Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

The School of Arts and Sciences (SoAS) is committed to fostering Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) through embracing and championing diversity, ensuring fairness in access to opportunities, and cultivating an inclusive community where every member is valued and embraced regardless of their backgrounds.

The School of Arts and Sciences endeavors to cultivate a diverse body of students, faculty, and staff, encompassing a broad spectrum of backgrounds, including nationalities, ethnicities, races, religions, genders, sexual orientations, abilities and socioeconomic statuses.

The School of Arts and Sciences is dedicated to ensuring equal access to education and opportunities for all its members, irrespective of their backgrounds. This commitment involves identifying and addressing barriers to success and providing support for all groups, particularly those who are underrepresented, by guaranteeing equal opportunities, rights and access to resources.

The School of Arts and Sciences also endeavors to promote a sense of belonging by cultivating an inclusive environment where every individual can actively engage in all facets of campus life and is treated with respect and dignity. It is essential that every member of our community feels valued, thereby allowing the School’s platform to serve as a springboard for success for all.

We are committed to

• Inclusion as the intentional, proactive, and continuing efforts and practices in which faculty, students and staff respect, support and value others. An inclusive environment provides equitable access to opportunities and resources, empowers everyone to participate equally, and offers respect in words and actions for all.
• Diversity as the range of human differences, encompassing the characteristics that make one individual or group different from another. Diversity includes, but is not limited to, the following characteristics: race, ethnicity, culture, gender identity and expression, age, national origin, religious beliefs, work sector, physical ability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, education, marital status, language, physical appearance, and cognitive differences.
• Equity as the fair treatment, access, opportunity and advancement for all individuals, achieved by intentional focus on their disparate needs, conditions and abilities. Achieving equity requires an understanding of historical and systemic patterns of disparity to address and eliminate barriers, and to remove participation gaps as part of a comprehensive strategy to achieve equitable outcomes and social justice.

The School will regularly collect data on the above measures, and assess the progress in order to identify areas for improvement.