Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Diversity, equity and inclusion is important to us here at the VCU School of Education. We appreciate the unique backgrounds, experiences and perspectives that each of our faculty, staff and students bring to the table, and recognize how much we all can learn from one another. That's why we are committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone, and why we teach our students to do the same in their own classrooms.
We are committed to inclusion and equity through research activities, as evidenced by our recent annual research colloquium event, which highlights faculty and doctoral student research and research-related endeavors. The 2020 colloquium featured Dr. Bettina L. Love, an award-winning author and researcher in the area of Hip Hop education, who addressed VCU faculty, staff and students on her experience researching whiteness in schools, abolitionist teaching, and its impact on students of color.
SOE is committed to ensuring that our faculty, staff, and students are continually exposed to and have access to a myriad opportunities to explore issues of race, social justice and equity. One example is our year-long faculty workshop called Decolonizing Your Syllabi, hosted by the DEI committee. The fall 2020 kickoff was led by Dr. Brian McGowan, associate professor at American University. Subsequent workshops included strategies to explore the process of syllabi decolonization; questioning whose voices are represented, identifying power structures, and de-centering Whiteness. Another example of our commitment to explore issues of race, equity, and social justice began during the 2020 academic year by exploring the benefits of Intergroup Dialogue. In August of 2021, a selected group of SOE stakeholders engaged in a week-long Intergroup Dialogue Facilitation Development Institute. Facilitated by Dr. Ragnesh Nagda, the insrtitute focused on engaging anti-racist social change.
We are fortunate to work with colleagues across VCU, Richmond and Virginia to support a wide variety of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Please review our DEI Resources page to learn more about ways to engage.
