The Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) aims to promote inclusive excellence in the university’s teaching, research and service dimensions. ODI’s mission is to foster an institutional culture where there is no dichotomy between our values of diversity and inclusion, and our goals of educational quality and excellence.
Led by the Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Natasha Martin, ODI advances the institution’s mission of training leaders for a just and humane world by working collaboratively to build the university’s sustainable capacity to fully integrate diversity, equity and inclusion into the strategic priorities of the institution.
The Office of Diversity and Inclusion embraces an intersectional framework for defining diversity in its broadest sense, including differences in gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, generational history, culture, socioeconomic class, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship status, political perspectives, geographic origin and physical ability. ODI visions a welcome, open and safe campus climate for all who learn, live and work at Seattle University.
In this second annual report, we continue to tell the story of inclusive excellence at SU. The report highlights some signature moments from last academic year including our ongoing efforts to engage and evolve prior to the wave of social movements around racial injustice, and our commitment to listen and respond to the national and institutional calls to action, particularly those of our students.
You will see our Jesuit values and impact reflected in the voices of some of our students and colleagues who generously share experiences of these unprecedented times. Importantly, this report captures the climate and context of the last several months as we look ahead to pursue LIFT SU: Inclusive Excellence Action Plan for Racial Equity and Antiracism.
The report contains embedded hyperlinks for ease of reading and deeper reflection. For example, view Dr. Alvin Sturdivant’s memorable Red Talk from last season, “I Am Enough: Resilience in a World that Says You Don’t Matter.” His words ring salient given our current reality.
Thanks to the Marcom team for their partnership with ODI to bring the vision and content to life.