Inclusive Excellence Demands Systemic Change in Higher Ed

The immediate losses as a result of continued and strategic legislative attacks against diversity, equity, and inclusion work are staggering: reduced funding for offices, the elimination of staff, diluted support for students, and the dismantling of progress made over the past 60 years to support students, faculty, and staff and move the U.S. closer to its ideals of being a great democracy.

Paulette Granberry RussellThe losses are real and have grave day-to-day impacts on the members of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE) and the campuses where they serve. Member phone calls come at all hours of the day — questions about what can be done to combat the rising tide of efforts to dismantle inclusion efforts and anxiety over what this moment signals for students, particularly those from backgrounds that historically have not been welcome or well-represented in institutions of higher education.

By far, the question I hear the most is, “What can be done?”

The dismantling makes clear that we need to undertake structural changes at our institutions to advance an inclusive excellence framework. If we are to eliminate inequitable outcomes while contending with fewer resources, higher education must underscore how diversity, equity, and inclusion work involves every aspect of an institution’s operations. Just as it cannot be divorced from the mission to support educational success, inclusion, and equity initiatives cannot be erased from campuses by the elimination of offices and positions.