Faculty Statement
Faculty* Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Approved on motion from from the Faculty Task Force on Diversity, Inclusion, and Curricular Integrity
10 January 2020 Faculty Meeting; Minutes approved 14 February 2020
We, the undergraduate faculty of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, believe that diversity of all kinds enriches campus life; it deepens our engagement with the Catholic intellectual tradition; it encourages curiosity, cultural literacy, and empathy; and it mirrors the world in which students and graduates pursue ethical lives of service and leadership.
As a Lasallian Catholic institution of higher education, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota must serve as a safe place of welcome where community members share responsibility to sustain and renew the experience of belonging for all. As a faculty, we therefore reject inequality and discrimination based on ability, age, ethnicity, gender identity, national origin, political and philosophical perspective, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation. Instead, we embrace our responsibility and opportunity to help create an inclusive environment for learning and teaching that embodies these ideals of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
An inclusive learning and teaching environment is one that recognizes and cherishes the intrinsic dignity of each person, and that values every opportunity to seek truth together. Animated by Catholic Social Teaching and the Lasallian Core Principles, such an environment invites all participants, individually and in community, to discern and nurture the common good, celebrate the gifts of human and social diversity, and take part in a shared commitment to each person’s well-being.
CALL to ACTION: We see the need for:
• Significant resources to develop knowledge and skills to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion as integral parts of our work as faculty
• A concerted effort to address all forms of prejudice and to respect the intrinsic dignity of all persons
• A commitment to ensure that each member of our Lasallian family feels safe, accepted, valued, and respected
• An attention to dismantling structural inequalities based on ability, age, ethnicity, gender identity, national origin, political and philosophical perspective, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation
• Improved shared understanding of how the Catholic Intellectual Tradition and Lasallian charism conceive of diversity, equity, and inclusion
* While this statement is constructed with the wellbeing of the institution in mind, it necessarily recognizes and is constrained in focus to the purview of the Undergraduate College Faculty body. It is our hope that it may serve as a resource for other constituencies.
Student Organizations
The following student groups are opportunities for students to get involved at Saint Mary's University. Visit the Clubs and Organizations page to learn more about getting involved (scroll down to Multicultural)
Black Students and Allies
The main objective of this organization is to foster education and personal development through diversity, academics, and social services that will bridge the gap between students of color and the general population at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. We will also strive to integrate new students into the welcoming atmosphere of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.
Inter-Cultural Awareness Association (ICAA)
The Inter-Cultural Awareness Association (ICAA) is a support, service, and educational organization of the Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota Community. It is the goal of this association to work closely with the administration and community of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota to empower all members of this community to come together to challenge, inspire, and liberate ourselves from the fears and prejudices which impair our ability to achieve our full potential. Central to this mission is ensuring that all persons of diverse ethnic backgrounds have a forum to bring issues of human difference to the table. The Inter-Cultural Awareness Association Office serves as a center where these differences can be acknowledged, celebrated, and appreciated enabling all members of this learning community to be part of our larger mission of educating and celebrating the whole person.
Solidarity Council
The purpose of the Solidarity Council is to unify and collaborate with people from all backgrounds on Saint Mary’s campus, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion, provide an educational and respectful environment to all Saint Mary’s students where we are free to share our unique perspectives on different aspects of life and learn from one another, and showcase our cultural traditions and share them with the greater Saint Mary’s population.
