Inclusive Excellence in Action

JEDI Strategic Plan Priorities

Santa Clara University’s JEDI Strategic Plan defines six strategic priority areas to focus advocacy and action towards:

Strategic Priority 1: Education & Scholarship

This priority refers to curriculum, teaching, research, scholarship, and employee and student development that contribute to SCU’s passion for discovery, innovation, and community. To create a more comprehensive and representative educational experience for all students, this involves reviewing and revising existing curricula, developing new courses and programs, and incorporating inclusive teaching practices. 

Activities in this area will also include professional development needed to support an inclusive and equitable learning, working, and living environment. This involves developing workshops, seminars, and training programs for faculty, staff, and students to enhance their awareness, knowledge, and skills in fostering an inclusive environment and addressing inclusion equity, diversity, and inclusion issues.

• Curriculum and Pedagogy Enhancement: The plan focuses on integrating diverse perspectives, experiences, and voices into the academic curriculum.
  • Goal statement: Ensure students are exposed to a wide variety of viewpoints and can engage with materials that reflect diverse cultures, histories, identities, and faiths. 
• Training and Education: The plan includes initiatives to provide training and education on topics such as unconscious bias, cultural competency, and inclusive leadership.
  • Goal statement: Develop and sustain a more equitable and inclusive community by offering multiple modalities and opportunities for faculty, staff, and students to increase the awareness, knowledge, and skills needed to foster inclusion and belonging. 

Strategic Priority 2: Access & Success

This priority’s key focus is recruitment, retention, development, and long-term outcomes (graduation, tenure, career advancement, etc.). Activities under Access & Success at SCU aim to increase diversity among students, faculty, staff, and administrators and support the success of people from marginalized backgrounds. To promote increased diversity and improved outcomes, units on campus may increase outreach to marginalized communities, initiate or enhance mentoring programs, and redesign recruitment, hiring, and promotion processes.

• Recruitment and Retention Strategies: The plan outlines targeted strategies to attract, retain, and develop individuals from underrepresented groups.
  • Goal statement: Diversify the faculty, staff, and students by including mentorship programs, networking initiatives, and outreach efforts to leverage partnerships with communities and organizations that can help identify and support diverse talent. Additionally, the plan seeks to improve retention by creating support systems, professional development opportunities, and inclusive workplace policies that promote a sense of belonging and advancement for all university community members.

Strategic Priority 3: Climate & Intergroup Relations

This priority refers to what it feels like for individuals to be here and the behavioral experiences and norms that are present. 

• Campus Climate Assessment and Support Services: The plan emphasizes the importance of regularly assessing the campus climate to identify improvement areas and understand the experiences and needs of underrepresented groups. Based on these assessments, the plan includes providing targeted support services, creating affinity and support groups, and implementing initiatives to address any identified areas of concern or where additional support is needed. 
• Goal statement: Create a living, learning, and working environment where all individuals are supported and respected, feel a sense of belonging, and can thrive. 

Strategic Priority 4: Community Engagement

Engagement with individuals and groups in our local area and reciprocal relationships with community partners in service of equity, inclusion, well-being, and mental health. 

• Community Engagement and Partnerships: The plan recognizes the importance of collaboration and engagement with external communities and includes initiatives to build partnerships with local, national, and global organizations committed to advancing justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. 
• Goal statement:   Develop mutually beneficial relationships, participate in community initiatives, and leverage resources and expertise to promote equity and inclusion beyond the campus boundaries.

Strategic Priority 5: Infrastructure & Accountability

The policies, resources, organizational and communication structures, and performance measures that inform and enable an intentionally inclusive, equitable, and innovative organization. 

• Policy and Structural Changes: The plan outlines implementing policies and structural changes to address systemic barriers and promote equity. It also establishes mechanisms for accountability to ensure that the university’s values are upheld at all levels of governance and administration. 
• Goal statement: Ensure policies, processes, and structures are equitable and inclusive, create clear pathways for reporting and addressing issues related to discrimination and bias. 

• Data Collection and Transparency: The plan emphasizes the importance of data collection and transparency to assess progress, identify areas of improvement, and ensure accountability. 
• Goal statement: Collect, analyze, and share data to identify needs related to justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion and to inform decision-making processes.

Strategic Priority 6: Wellness

SCU’s Wellness Model has eight dimensions of wellness and was created as a guide to help enhance our SCU community's pursuit of a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Each dimension is presented by an icon that will assist individuals in understanding how programs and events will enhance their wellness.

• The plan includes initiatives that will facilitate awareness and self-efficacy related to living a healthy and balanced life. 
• Goal statement: Create a culture of holistic health by empowering students, faculty, and staff to make informed decisions and develop self-efficacy in achieving intellectual, spiritual, social, physical, and emotional well-being.