STATEMENT OF PHILOSOPHY REGARDING DIVERSITY 

STATEMENT OF PHILOSOPHY ON DIVERSITY

As a community of reflective practitioners and scholars, the faculty of the College of Education promotes understanding and respect for differences in professional and personal identity. Professional differences involve work situations, ideologies, or traditions including the tasks each individual accomplishes within the College of Education and the citizenship individuals manifest through their workload and community service. Personal differences include, but are not limited to, race, ethnicity, gender, abilities and disabilities, religious affiliation, language/dialect, origin/abode, ideology, traditions, sexuality, socioeconomic status, age, and appearance. In essence, we believe that the unique individuals in this college have strengths and characteristics that are vital to our college and its growth, and the climate of diversity. As we celebrate our differences, we also recognize our similarities as we work toward educating ourselves and our students to nurture one another in this endeavor.

As a college faculty, we affirm the importance and necessity of providing equitable and needed opportunities to all members of our college and to the greater community to learn and be successful. We acknowledge that the educational opportunities of particular groups and individuals have been limited and sometimes denied as a result of restrictive policies and practices. This denial or limitation of educational opportunity and success has and continues to result in the loss of human potential and talent and, as a result, contributes to social injustice and economic inequality in our nation. As a faculty, we will consistently work to recognize and eliminate these inequities so as to achieve our mission to "provide leadership for educational excellence and equity in partnership with communities and educational agencies." ( College of Education Mission Statement)

In order to achieve our mission as a college and to create an environment of mutual respect where our professional diversity and strengths are nurtured and our personal differences respected, the following statements will guide us:

Affirming Unique Professional and Personal Identities

•  Differences in interest, knowledge, purpose, and discipline create our unique professional identities.

•  Differences in race, ethnicity, gender, abilities and disabilities, religious affiliation, language/dialect, origin/abode, ideology, traditions, sexuality, socioeconomic status, age, and appearance contribute to our unique individual as well as group identities.

Building an Inclusive Community

•  Community is built and sustained by a climate of equity, fairness, and trust and the recognition of and response to the individual needs of our faculty, staff, student body, and extended community.

•  Community is strengthened by our mutual respect of the humanness and of the unique contributions to our mission of each member of our faculty, staff, and the student body.

Cultivating Leadership for a Pluralistic Society

•  Excellence in a pluralistic society requires that leaders and leadership be available to and be representative of our college and greater national and international community.

•  Personal and social barriers that block or limit the opportunities of individuals and groups to provide leadership in our college and the greater community will be attenuated and replaced with our commitment to equal opportunity, support, and excellence.

Developing a Participatory Working Environment

•  A participatory working environment encourages and supports multiple perspectives and strengths.

•  A participatory working environment invites and honors discussion, dialogue, and debate that respect the humanness of those involved.

Encouraging Policies and Practices that Reflect Social and Economic Justice