The Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) released a statement on Wednesday focused on justice, equity and inclusion. The statement is designed to help institutions address such matters on their campuses.
“The AGB Board of Directors Statement on Justice, Equity and Inclusion and Guide for Implementation is critically important for all organizations, regardless of type — whether you’re in higher education, corporations, government, private sector or other — because these values are critically important to advancing our society, our institutions and our economies and communities around the world,” said Henry Stoever, AGB president and CEO.
The statement titled, “AGB Board of Directors’ Statement on Justice, Equity, and Inclusion, and Guidance for Implementation” offers three key strategies, spanning not just boards but also the surrounding communities.
They include:
Developing and applying an equity lens in the board’s governance, structures and processes; Applying a justice, equity and inclusion lens throughout the institution, and contributing to social justice and equity in the community in which the institution is located
“The report first of all tries to describe the landscape in higher education regarding issues of equity and to clarify why focusing on equity is such an important thing for the students themselves, for the institution and for the nation and, if you want to go farther, even for the world,” said Dr. Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran, AGB senior consultant and president emerita of Kalamazoo College.
Wilson-Oyelaran was the statement’s primary author.
