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| About RVU | Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | Inclusive Excellence

INCLUSIVE EXCELLENCE

Inclusive Excellence (IE) emerged in 2005 as an initiative of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). Specifically, with funding from the Ford Foundation and under the leadership of Alma R. Clayton-Pedersen, PhD, Vice President for Education and Institutional Renewal, AAC&U commissioned a series of scholarly articles delineating the concept of Inclusive Excellence, presenting the latest research on diversity, and outlining conceptual models revolutionizing higher education's approach to preparing students for an increasingly diverse society and world.

What is Inclusive Excellence?

Inclusive Excellence:

  • Focuses on the structural cultural transformation of a university into a community that embeds diversity and inclusiveness throughout the institution (system), including (but not limited to) demographics, facilities, curriculum, policies, enrollment, pedagogies, financial resources, fund raising, leadership, trainings, clubs and organizations, events, retention, student learning, marketing, technology, student advising, athletics, campus climate, communications, administration, recruitment, retention, graduation, hiring, promotion and tenure, assessments, institutional advancement, and evaluations.
  • Moves a university away from a simplistic definition of diversity and toward a more inclusive, comprehensive, and omnipresent notion of inclusiveness in which diversity includes (but is not limited to) culture, race, age, ethnicity or national origin, color, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, spiritual practices, political beliefs, mental and physical ability, socioeconomic status, individual life experiences, or other social identities;
  • Melds inclusiveness and academic excellence into one concept (to be excellent, we must be inclusive);
  • Shifts the responsibility for diversity and inclusiveness to everyone on campus regardless of their position or rank as opposed to one person, unit, or department shouldering the responsibility;
  • Moves an institution away from conceptualizing diversity only in terms of a numerical goal of diverse constituents and broadens it to include changing the culture and climate to be as inclusive as possible of all students and in particular, students from marginalized communities who are rich in multicultural perspectives, experiences, worldviews, cultures, and other gifts and talent.

In conclusion, Inclusive Excellence is a framework for transforming Rocky Vista University into an institution that conceptualizes inclusiveness and excellence as one and the same, makes inclusiveness ubiquitous, assigns responsibility for inclusiveness to everyone on campus, and utilizes a broad definition of diversity. The IE model is accompanied by an implementation infrastructure, measurement initiatives, and an accountability/incentives system.

DIVERSITY NEWS AT RVU

Happy Lunar New Year

January 24, 2023

Happy Lunar New Year A message from David Paltza, University Registrar about celebrating the Lunar New Year. Happy Lunar New Year Some of you might be very familiar with the Lunar New Year commonly known as the Chinese New Year.  But did you know that it is actually widely celebrated across many Asian nations and Asian-American communities?  I grew up in a very culturally Asian household (Filipino, to be exact), in the beautifully diverse city of Los Angeles, CA. One facet about this huge city of wonderful diversity is the opportunity to celebrate a variety of cultures with full equity […]

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Martin Luther King, Jr Day

January 11, 2023

Martin Luther King, Jr Day A message from Adrian Clark, RVU consultant and member of the Inclusive Excellence Advisory Council, regarding the importance of the upcoming Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday: This year on January 16 the nation observes and celebrates the birth of a true contemporary American hero, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. From his initial involvement in the Montgomery Bus Boycott; to his “I Have a Dream” speech during the historic March on Washington; to his leadership of the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama; to his opposition of the Vietnam War and finally his […]

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Message from the Provost | Recognition of Juneteenth

June 19, 2021

Message from the Provost | Recognition of Juneteenth [June 18, 2021 – Parker, CO] Dear RVU family, As we continue on our journey and understanding around issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion, I wanted to take a moment to think about Juneteenth.  I have heard about Juneteenth, and had some vague notion as to what it was, but was never taught about it in school, even as a political science major in college.  One of the benefits that has come out of the tragedy of systemic racism caught on cell phones and body-cams in recent years is that it has […]

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