Inclusive Excellence
The Office of Inclusive Excellence (OIEX) advances inclusive excellence at Allegheny College by shaping, implementing, and supporting policies, strategies, and initiatives in support of the College’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Inclusivity Initiatives
The OIEX includes the IDEAS Center (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access, and Social Justice) and the Assistant Dean for Inclusive Excellence, and is led by the Dean of Inclusive Excellence. OIEX oversees and manages the Bias Education and Response Team, employee affinity groups and Title IX.
The IDEAS Center is a gathering place to support the experiences of under-resourced students and have a dialogue about inclusion, diversity, equity, access, and social justice.
RISE is a personal, professional, and academic development program for first-year Allegheny students from historically underrepresented backgrounds.
Statement of Community
Allegheny students and employees are committed to creating an inclusive, respectful, and safe residential learning community that will actively confront and challenge racism, sexism, heterosexism, religious bigotry, and other forms of harassment and discrimination. We encourage individual growth by promoting a free exchange of ideas in a setting that values diversity, trust, and equality. So that the right of all to participate in a shared learning experience is upheld, Allegheny affirms its commitment to the principles of freedom of speech and inquiry, while at the same time fostering responsibility and accountability in the exercise of these freedoms. This statement does not replace existing personnel policies and codes of conduct.
Tenets of Inclusive Excellence
Inclusive Excellence (IE) is a strategic approach and core value that comprehensively links diversity and quality and prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion work at the core of the institution’s functioning. Sustained commitment to IE leads to educational benefits and stronger outcomes for students and strengthens the broader campus community. Defining IE at Allegheny is a critical step in actualizing the College’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. In Spring 2020, the Office of Inclusive Excellence and the Council on Diversity and Equity (CoDE) circulated a survey to gather input from the Allegheny community to determine a tailored definition of IE at Allegheny based on four primary elements of IE identified by the American Association of Colleges & Universities (Making Excellence Inclusive). CoDE then used this information to draft four “Tenets of Inclusive Excellence” for Allegheny College:
- Intentionally focusing on intellectual, social, and civic development, by offering a curriculum and co-curricular opportunities that are infused with a range of disciplines and perspectives. We work to implement an educational experience that contributes to critical thinking, knowledge, and holistic development for all community members.
- Fostering a rich environment of learning, belonging, and self-exploration where all community members feel a sense of belonging and have the opportunity to thrive. We do this through a purposeful development and utilization of organizational resources.
- Recognizing and valuing the diverse cultural and intellectual experiences and perspectives that each individual brings to the Allegheny community to enhance the overall educational enterprise and work environment.
- Creating and maintaining a welcoming, diverse community that values and celebrates intentional engagement across difference in all sectors and at all levels of the institution.
Key Definitions
Diversity
Individual differences (e.g., personality, prior knowledge, and life experiences) and group/social differences (e.g., race/ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, and ability as well as cultural, political, religious, or other affiliations)
Inclusion
The active, intentional, and ongoing engagement with diversity — in the curriculum, in the co-curriculum, and in communities (intellectual, social, cultural, geographical) with which individuals might connect — in ways that increase awareness, content knowledge, cognitive sophistication, and empathic understanding of the complex ways individuals interact within systems and institutions
Equity
The creation of opportunities for historically underserved populations to have equal access to and participate in educational programs that are capable of closing the achievement gaps in student success and completion
Equity-Mindedness
“The term ‘Equity-Mindedness’ refers to the perspective or mode of thinking exhibited by practitioners who call attention to patterns of inequity in student outcomes. These practitioners are willing to take personal and institutional responsibility for the success of their students, and critically reassess their own practices. It also requires that practitioners are race-conscious and aware of the social and historical context of exclusionary practices in American Higher Education.”
Inclusive Excellence
The presence of diversity, equity, inclusion, and equity-mindedness across every area of the College. It is core to an institution’s function and is part of administrative structures and practices; recruitment, admissions, and hiring; and present within the curriculum and co-curriculum of an institution.
Source: American Association of Colleges & Universities
Featured News
Heather Moore Roberson Reflects on the Impact of “Soul Train” with SwagHer Magazine
Heather Moore Roberson, dean of inclusive excellence, had the opportunity to reflect on the impact “Soul Train” had in her life.
