Whittier College Equity Summit 2024
The Equity Summit of Whittier College came about due to the dedication and creativity of a collective comprised of staff, faculty, and students who envision what Whittier College can be. As an HSI/MSI institution, we owe it to ourselves and our community to ensure that what we do and how we do it centers equity. Equity is defined as the creation of opportunities, systems, and structures which remove barriers and close gaps in outcomes for those from historically underrepresented groups. To be “equity-minded” means that we “are willing to take personal and institutional responsibility for the success of students, and critically reassess our own practices. It also requires that practitioners are race-conscious and aware of the social and historical context of exclusionary practices in American Higher Education” (Equity Mindedness | Center for Urban Education | USC).
Our Equity Summit took place during the week of January 29 to February 1, 2024 with various sessions dedicated to building an equity-minded culture on our campus. The keynote speaker was Dr. Tia Brown McNair, Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC.
Her keynote From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: When Intent Isn’t Enough was followed by a community book discussion: From Equity Talk To Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Education.
The Equity Week was made possible by Whittier College staff, students, & faculty of the: Howard Hughes Medical Initiative, Black Education Alliance, Circles of Friends, Office of Equity & Inclusion, Office of the Dean of Faculty, Student Diversity Council, and Gender Equity Center.
Resources to Build an Equity-Minded Campus Culture
Resources from the Equity Connect Center
The Equity Connect Center at USC is excited to share five groups you can join now on the Equity Connect Portal. We hope these will create communities of practice where you can share resources, stories, questions, advice, and more! The USC Race and Equity Center will also be posting resources, questions, and opportunities specific to these communities of practice:
- LACRELA DEI Officers Professional Community of Practice
- LACRELA Enrollment Officers Community of Practice
- LACRELA Academic Officers Community of Practice
- LACRELA Curriculum and Instruction- Community of Practice
- LACRELA Student Services- Community of Practice
Please sign-up to access the resources on Equity Connect now!
Once logged in, click on the “Groups” tab at the top of the page, and you should see newly created groups on the right of the page.
Click on any group to join.
