Dear Colleagues,

When I joined Santa Clara University this past July, I joined a University committed to lifting up a comprehensive vision for integrating diversity and inclusion into all aspects of this campus, and engaging the community in the process.

Since then I have conducted a thorough review of all University Diversity, Equity and Inclusion units, as well as recommendations from prior university reports. Our goal has been to bring under one roof the key offices and departments that will assist the institution in integrating diversity, equity, inclusion and educational quality efforts into the mission and institutional operations.

We are now pleased to announce the creation of Santa Clara’s new Division of Inclusive Excellence, which I will lead, and which will include the following units:

• The Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX
• The LEAD Scholars Program
• The Office of Accessible Education
• The Office for Diversity and Inclusion
• The Office for Multicultural Learning (Rainbow Resource Center and Multicultural Center)
• The Office of the Ombuds (coming soon)

This new division, which launched on December 1, will bring these strong units together to centralize and scale efforts to serve the entire institution. We will develop a new and collaborative approach to providing holistic services to the campus community. We will do so using our new website and a monthly newsletter to communicate about our division, new initiatives, and updates about the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Strategic Planning Process currently underway for Santa Clara University.

In addition to these offices, three advisory committees will work with me and Ray Plaza, director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, on our strategic planning, implementation processes, and special projects in our division.

These advisory partners include:

• Inclusive Excellence Student Advisory Council (undergraduate)
• Inclusive Excellence Graduate Student Advisory Council
• Inclusive Excellence Faculty and Staff Advisory Council

Last, but not least, the Division of Inclusive Excellence will continue to work in partnership with the Division of Mission and Ministry’s three units: the Mission Church; the Office of Campus Ministry; and the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education. Through these units, the Division of Mission and Ministry promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion through experiential and community-based learning, dialogue, worship, and service.

Together our two divisions will continue to partner on numerous campus-wide projects to enact our vision of inclusive justice on Santa Clara University campuses, as we work to build a more humane, just and sustainable world in our Jesuit tradition.

Warmly,

 

Shá Duncan Smith
Vice President for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion