As the semester draws to a close, I wanted to update you on some of the progress the Office of Equity and Inclusion has made to make our campus a more open and inclusive environment for everyone. Overall, we are ahead of schedule on the Strategic Plan for Inclusive Excellence, and by adding a Coordinator of Multicultural Affairs, we are continuing to make great strides towards our goals, including doubling campus programming around diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Goal 1: We Create Opportunity
Loyola’s greatest strength is its student diversity. It’s what makes us such a welcoming place. Our current students and alumni often remark on the fact that they instantly feel at home here. We are dedicated to maintaining that diversity, both in terms of new student recruitment, but also in retaining our existing students. We created the new “One Loyola Multicultural Center” in a central location in the Danna Center, which will serve as a hub for social justice and diversity initiatives including the new Ambassador Program. And in the coming year, we will apply for more grants to further support our first-generation students.
We are making a special effort to ensure our Hispanic population feels supported and are working towards our goal of earning the Hispanic Serving Institution designation. We are developing a detailed plan for that initiative in collaboration with Academic Affairs and have already increased the amount of campus programming that is available in Spanish, as well as increased our Hispanic tenured faculty. We will continue to build on that number and are also advocating for increasing the number of Hispanic staff.
We are in constant communication with Facilities to address accessibility issues to make our spaces open and welcoming to all. We partnered with them, SGA, and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee to make menstrual products available in campus restrooms.
And we are working with the General Counsel to improve our bias incident reporting processes to make them more efficient and effective overall.
Goal 2: We Teach Our Values
Our January term has increased the total number of courses pertaining to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice issues. Last year, we successfully earned a grant from the U.S. Department of State that funded, with additional support from our Deans, a J-term trip to Mexico City. This was a transformative opportunity for students who might otherwise not have been able to study abroad. We hope to continue this social justice J-term in Mexico City in 2023.
We revamped our Paws and Reflect orientation program to guide our students in reflecting on what it means to foster inclusivity at Loyola from their very first days on campus. For faculty and staff, we offer on-demand training to proactively address problem areas as they emerge. We will be expanding these opportunities and are developing a new faculty training in partnership with the Student Government Association.
And we will be relaunching diversity grants in the fall. These funds can be used for DEI related initiatives, projects, or speakers.
Goal 3: We Live Our Values
This has been mentioned before, but it bears repeating that in our compensation study, Mercer found almost no potential wage disparities due to race. This reflects Loyola’s long-term commitment to equity in the workplace.
As outlined in the Strategic Plan for Inclusive Excellence, we are conducting more national searches to broaden our applicant pools for faculty and staff positions. This has produced extraordinary results, raising the percentage of new hires who identify as faculty of color from 20% to 32%.
At the same time, we are conducting more outreach to employees. A group for Black faculty and staff that we started in February has been very popular, we will hold another Pride month celebration in June, and we have plans for more identity-related groups and mentorship programs.
For students, we will launch a new campus climate survey on diversity, equity, and inclusion next year that will give us a thorough picture of the experience of current students. We will then use that information to build on our strengths and address weaknesses.
Creating a sense of belonging for all individuals is essential to ensuring our campus community thrives academically, personally, and professionally. We collaborate with many of you across campus to make our goals a reality. Thank you for all you do to help make our campus the vibrant, joyful, and welcoming place that it is.
Kedrick Perry
Vice President for Equity & Inclusion
