Ensuring an Inclusive Campus Community Requires Messaging From Campus Leadership
College campuses were historically viewed as safe spaces where differences were welcome and where people were educated about tolerance and accepted. Sadly, many campus climates appear to be changing, and this has not always been the case recently.
As states continue to mandate the closure of various diversity offices and initiatives, what can chief academic officers do to ensure that all students, faculty and staff feel welcome and supported on campus? For starters, we need to make sure that everyone is using the same definitions for diversity and inclusion. Regulators, both governmental and nonprofit, often only ask institutions of higher education to report certain diversity data such as gender, race and ethnicity. By only calling out these groups, it can lead to an impression that other markers of diversity may not be viewed in an equal way. For example, data may not be kept or reported on diversity in religion, diversity in terms of physical or mental impairments, diversity based on political points of view, diversity based on sexual orientation, diversity based on socio-economic status, diversity based on citizenship status, and countless other categories of ways in which everyone is unique and different from someone else.
Creating an environment that fosters inclusion and belonging can manifest itself in myriad different ways. For students, faculty and staff that require accommodations based on physical or mental challenges, ensuring that our campuses have appropriately staffed offices whose services are easily discoverable and accessible to the community is important. Information should be available not just in handbooks but also on websites in formats that are accessible to all. For example, someone who is visually impaired should be able to easily navigate communication vehicles to be able to ascertain needed information. There may be different offices for students and for employees tasked with ensuring a welcoming environment for members of the community.
To make the campus community feel welcome and gain a sense of belonging, recognizing religious days of observance is an important message. Recognizing that there are many different religions practiced by students, faculty and staff, careful attention should be paid to the academic calendar. Faith-based institutions already incorporate religious observances based on their tradition, which may be a draw for people who practice that faith. For other schools who attract a more diverse population, designing a calendar that can accommodate as many holy days of observance as possible is one strategy. Where this is not feasible, policies that ensure exams and other required activities do not occur on days that force students to choose between their religion and their education is important.
Protecting academic freedom and free speech while accommodating diversity of viewpoint for everyone in the classroom can be tricky. While some may believe that controversy in the classroom is part of the educational process and promotes critical thinking, it is important to be mindful that just as this may be true, students may also believe that the balance of power in classroom tips to the faculty member who, when grading is not anonymous, may take their views into consideration when making final decisions on class participation and grades. Students may also not feel comfortable being “outed” for their views by their peers who may not always be tolerant and accepting. We can teach a lot in higher education, but we cannot control individual thoughts and behaviors. Some have retorted that students are too sensitive and that this is not a legitimate fear. Yet how is this different from faculty lore that junior or untenured faculty should not speak up at faculty meetings or in committees because they don’t feel like they have security of position? People feel how they feel whether they are right or wrong about perceptions – but the point is we need to be sensitive to make sure everyone feels included and not threatened.
Institutions of higher education should ensure that their deans of students, advisors and others on campus who are trusted by students and other members of the community, have information to help people who struggle based on food and/or housing insecurity. Afterall, students cannot fully learn and people cannot be effective at their jobs if they are hungry and/or if they are stressed over lack of nutrition and/or shelter. Connections to local social services available from the public and nonprofit sectors offered in a discrete manner to those in need sends a strong message that the institution wants to enable each individual who is part of the community to be successful. It helps people feel like they do belong.
Enforcing codes of conduct and professionalism that have zero tolerance for bullying and harassment is another important method of demonstrating safe and inclusive communities that foster a sense of belonging. Of course being respectful and kind also go a long way.
There are countless other ways the campuses do and can ensure inclusion and belonging for all things that make us different – while recognizing that we are all the same – we are part of humanity. Chief academic officers can and should set a positive tone, along with the rest of the campus leadership, for inclusion and belonging. Campus leadership sets the tone for the entire institution, influencing policies, practices and culture. Embracing inclusion and belonging is a strategic advantage for higher education institutions. By fostering environments where everyone feels valued and included, we can unlock the full potential of our academic communities and prepare our students for success in an increasingly diverse world.
Patricia Salkin, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost of the Graduate and Professional Divisions, Touro University