Sparked by a semester of campus activism and dialogue and the recommendations of a steering committee, in February 2015 Chancellor Mark Wrighton and Provost Holden Thorp convened a Commission to create a university-wide plan for diversity.
The Commission on Diversity and Inclusion worked from August 2015 through October 2017. The Commission was composed of 27 members of the Washington University community, including faculty members, staff, and students—undergraduate, graduate, and professional students—from all campuses. To tackle the action items, we appointed 12 working groups and utilized the perspectives, experiences, and expertise of more than 230 faculty members, staff, and students. In addition, the Commission took on the task of making recommendations on: an institutional scorecard, a chief diversity officer, a centralized “Academy” to house training and other inclusion initiatives, sex and gender equity, tenure standards, Urban Fellows, publicity/communications strategy, and support for the university’s Supplier Diversity Initiative. We also solicited input from the university’s LGBT Advisory Committee.
The executive summary of the report from the Commission on Diversity and Inclusion (PDF) and the individual reports represent the culmination of two years of deep engagement, focused strategizing, fact finding, bench marking, and listening to the voices of the Washington University community. The individual reports (PDF) are:
0. Introduction
1. Race and Ethnicity Center
2. Identifying Technology Barriers
3. Undergraduate Students
4. Graduate Students
5. Urban Fellows
6. Faculty
7. Tenure Standards
8. Gender Equity
9. Staff
10. Academy
11. Training
12. Honors and Recognition
13. Events
14. Supplier Diversity
15. Publicity/Communications Strategy
16. Strategic Planning
17. Data
18. Scorecard
19. Chief Diversity Officer
The Commission on Diversity and Inclusion was inspired by the recommendations of the Report of the Steering Committee for Diversity and Inclusion.
Commission Members
Vice Provost
William M. Van Cleve Professor of Law
Lecturer, International and Area Studies
Arts & Sciences
Assistant Dean, Scholars Program,
Director, Annika Rodriguez Scholars Program
School of Medicine
William Greenleaf Eliot Professor of Chemistry Arts & Sciences
Major in Biology, Class of 2018
Major in Business Administration
Class of 2019
Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine; Co-Director, Office of Faculty Development School of Medicine
Associate Dean for Administration
The Brown School
Director, Diversity and Inclusion, Content Development and Program Delivery
Office of Human Resources
Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
Dean of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion
Associate Professor Associate Dean for Diversity
The Brown School
PhD Student
The Brown School
MD Candidate
Class of 2019
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Radiology
School of Medicine
Associate Director for Advising and Student Affairs
Olin Business School
Undergraduate Student Major in Computer Science Class of 2018
Dean, College of Architecture/Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design
E. Desmond Lee Professor for Community Collaboration
Associate Dean; Director of Undergraduate Programs
Olin Business School
MBA Student
Class of 2017
Lucy and Stanley Lopata Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering,
School of Engineering & Applied Sciences,
Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine
Associate Provost for Student Success
Office of the Provost
Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives Division of Student Affairs
Administrative Lead for the Commission;
Administrative Assistant, Office of the Provost
Dec. ’15 – Jul. ’16
Nov. ’15 – Aug. ’16
Dec. ’15 – May ‘ 16
Nov. ’15 – Aug. ’16