As a School of Public Health, we want all members of our community (students, faculty, and staff) to feel valued and have their strengths recognized, and we want to create a culture of diversity and inclusion.
A culture of diversity and inclusion means fostering and supporting an environment where each individual is valued and can confidently offer insights and skills. It is an environment where diversity is seen as a source of strength, rather than simply an acknowledgement of difference. Organizations with such a culture benefit from the contributions of everyone in the community and are more innovative, flexible, and adaptable.
Thus, all community members benefit professionally, academically, and socially from an academic environment that values and promotes diversity and inclusion. In short, we are prepared to think, live, and work with a global perspective on issues. Diversity and inclusion means recognizing, respecting, and celebrating the wide range of characteristics and differences among people. These differences include ethnicity, race, language or nationality, gender, sexual orientation, age, educational background, life experiences, family status, faith/religion, socioeconomic status, abilities (physical, mental, cognitive), group (or political) affiliations, and personal ways of being and thinking. According to this conception, people have multiple and sometimes changing cultural identities.
