The President’s Committee on Inclusion and Diversity began in 2016 as a task force under then-President Marjorie Hass. The task force was created to ensure that Austin College “continues to nurture, celebrate, and support differences in race, sex, ethnicity, class, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity.” The task force was co-chaired by Dr. Lisa M. Brown and Dr. John Williams and was made up of Austin College students, faculty, staff, and community members. Dr. Hass charged this group to “identify areas that support an inclusive culture and to make recommendations where these aspects might be meaningfully strengthened.” Over the course of about a year, the Task Force on Inclusion and Diversity met together, formed focus groups, collected data, and compiled research—bringing together a broad variety of stakeholders throughout the process. They provided summaries of key findings and a set of recommendations and shared those with the campus community.
In 2018, President O’Day converted the task force to a standing committee. The initial work of this committee was to implement the recommendations of the Inclusion and Diversity Task Force. Some of those include new curricular requirements in Global Diversity and Systems of Power, Privilege, and Inequality as part of the new Compass Curriculum, a new Director of Student Success, and increased Title IX support.
The committee is co-chaired by Dr. Lisa M. Brown and Dr. John Williams and is made up of Austin College students, faculty, staff, alumni, and trustees. To contact the committee, email inclusiondiversity@austincollege.edu.
Links of Interest
- 2017 Inclusion and Diversity Task Force Executive Summary
- Task Force Resource – Intersectionality in Action: A Guide for Faculty and Campus Leaders for Creating Inclusive Classrooms and Institutions
- Actionable Steps for Justice and Opportunity Survey