The School of Integrative Studies, an intentionally inclusive community, promotes and maintains an equitable and just work and learning environment. We welcome and value individuals and their differences including race, economic status, gender expression and identity, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, national origin, first language, religion, age, and disability.
The statement alone is not sufficient to ensure that students, faculty and staff will recognize, accept and affirm their differences in respectful ways. In order to move forward in reducing marginalization and fostering knowledge of the diverse nature of our community of learners, the statement should be used to prompt conversation about how the class will manage dialogue generally and particularly around difficult issues.
We acknowledge that the diversity statement does not name all possible areas of discrimination and bias that are a part of our community members’ experiences. This statement names the areas of most egregious prejudice in our society. There are courses which may address directly some areas of potential prejudice that are not named in this statement. For example, “political affiliation” is not on this statement, but if a course is likely to provoke discussion of politics and reveal personal views, the instructor may wish to write an addendum to this asserting that respect for diverse political views is essential.