Mission:
The Division of Diversity and Inclusion helps to coordinate, cultivate, and contribute to institutional efforts to advance inclusive excellence at Whitman College. Guided by principles of cultural pluralism, cultural humility, and cultural wealth, the work of the Division is to enhance our collective awareness and capacity around issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism. Inclusive excellence is a shared responsibility of all members within our community and the Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion (VPDI) serves as the senior inclusion administrator at the College. The VPDI provides vision and leadership in this domain, but the entire Whitman community is responsible for championing issues of inclusion and ensuring a sense of belonging for all faculty, staff, and students.
Vision:
- To have a campus community where inclusive excellence drives decision-making at all levels of the college, where those decisions are supported by culturally responsive policies and practices.
- To recruit, retain, and support a campus community that is committed to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracist practices.
- To cultivate partnerships regionally and nationally that support the shifting demographics of the campus community.
Principles:
Our principles of inclusive excellence provide a foundation for the community we are actively fostering. We recognize that our path towards inclusive excellence will require:
- Diversity without dominance
- Equity without benevolence
- Inclusion without othering
- Belonging without assimilation
Approach:
The work of the Division of Diversity and Inclusion is trifurcated operationally and exercises horizontal influence. Our trifurcated operational areas include: Identity and Belonging, Equity and Compliance, and Inclusive Excellence. The Identity and Belonging area includes several primarily student-facing units that contribute programmatically to the campus climate, facilitate the exploration and development of student identities, and provide support and services to marginalized and/or minoritized communities. This area includes the Intercultural Center, International Student and Scholar Services, LGBTQIA+ Student Services, as well as Religious and Spiritual Life, all of which collaboratively aid the entire Whitman student body in better understanding their relationships to systems of oppression and to each other by providing opportunities for community healing, connection, and liberation. The Equity and Compliance area is focused on coordinating institutional compliance with federal and state discrimination, harassment, and retaliation laws and related College policies, with an emphasis on those related to sexual and gender-based misconduct and other forms of identity-based harassment and discrimination. This area is also involved in the response and resolution of bias incidents that may not have an identifiable respondent or constitute a violation of the law or College policy, but nonetheless impact our community. The Inclusive Excellence area is focused on the intra-Divisional horizontal influence work of diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism capacity building. This area involves the Division’s work with student, staff, and faculty partners and collaborators across the College to revise policies, shift practices, and modify systems in an effort to infuse inclusive excellence principles through all aspects of institutional operations.