The Chancellor’s Work-Group on Diversity & Inclusion
The mission of the Chancellor’s Work-group on Diversity & Inclusion is to develop solutions on how to further create a more diverse and inclusive climate at the University. Members of the work-group will create an institutional diversity strategy and align it with the vision and mission contained in the University’s new Academic Strategic Plan.
A report by the Chancellor’s Workgroup on Diversity and Inclusion details wide-ranging recommendations aimed at creating a more welcoming, respectful campus climate, including establishing a Diversity and Inclusion Council and hiring a chief diversity officer.
The report contains 33 short- and long-term recommendations in three categories:
- Institutional Commitment, which addresses structural and policy issues that shape the campus environment
- Faculty, Staff and Student Education, which details the need for all University community members to be more engaged and informed on issues of diversity and inclusion
- Full Access, which addresses the need for students, staff and faculty to feel welcome and included at all University activities
According to the report, “To make our university a place in which all members feel welcome and find a sense of safety and ‘unity in our diversity,’ we need to rethink the ways we interact, remove structural barriers to full participation in the life of our community, and build intercultural competencies.”
The recommendations were developed by the workgroup after months of hearing input from University community members, meeting with stakeholders and reviewing previous work in diversity on campus.
Helpful Links to Syracuse University Diversity & Inclusion
At the recommendation of the Chancellor’s Workgroup on Diversity & Inclusion, Syracuse University has created a Diversity and Inclusion portal to provide easy access to programs, initiatives, services, offices, groups, and other resources available on campus. We look forward to updating this website, bringing you fresh new content and providing you access to new and helpful resources.
Key Definitions
The board of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) clearly defines diversity, equity, and inclusion as:
- Diversity: Individual differences (e.g., personality, learning styles, and life experiences) and group/social differences (e.g., race/ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, and ability as well as cultural, political, religious, or other affiliations) that can be engaged in the service of learning.
- Inclusion: The active, intentional, and ongoing engagement with diversity — in people, in the curriculum, in the co-curriculum, and in communities (intellectual, social, cultural, geographical) with which individuals might connect — in ways that increase one’s awareness, content knowledge, cognitive sophistication, and empathic understanding of the complex ways individuals interact within [and change] systems and institutions.
- Equity: The creation of opportunities for historically underrepresented populations to have equal access to and participate in educational programs that are capable of closing the achievement gaps in student success and completion.