Santa Clara University

Advancing inclusive excellence is a campus-wide goal reflected in Santa Clara's Jesuit values and traditions. As stated in the University's Strategic Plan: Community and Diversity, "We cherish our diverse community and the roots that must sustain it: shared values amidst diversity, close personal relationships, effective communication, respect for others, and an engaged concern for the common good of the campus, the local community, and the global society."

In September 2007, the Provost's Office, under the leadership of Provost Lucia Albino Gilbert, established the Provost's Council on Inclusive Excellence and the Office for Multicultural Learning to advance inclusive excellence on the Santa Clara campus. A year later, in December 2008, the Provost's Council was expanded and renamed the University Council on Inclusive Excellence. The Council in both its current and original forms, as well as the Office for Multicultural Learning, are significant initiatives that build on the University's concerted efforts in this important area. An Inclusive Excellence Student Advisory Council, formed at the end of Spring Quarter 2008, serves in an advisory capacity to the University Council.

As Audre Lorde has instructed us, "It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences."