Division of Student Affairs DE&I Departmental Realignment

Wed, 01 Jul 2020 15:59:44 -0400
diversity, diversityandinclusion, equity, inclusion, studentaffairs, umbc

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that Campus Life’s student diversity and inclusion unit (DE&I), including the Mosaic, Pride, and Interfaith Centers, will be realigned to create an independent DE&I-focused department reporting to Dr. Jasmine Lee, director of inclusive excellence in the Division of Student Affairs.

For many years, the Mosaic Center has been a central resource for diversity and inclusion education and training for students as well as a safe space for underrepresented student populations at UMBC. The student diversity and inclusion provides leadership for the Interfaith and PRIDE Centers. Collectively, these centers include pivotal partnerships with the UMBC Religious Council, the LGBTQ Faculty and Staff Association, the Counseling Center, the Women’s Center, and many of our religious, spiritual, and LGBTQ+ student organizations. With the creation of an inclusive excellence director in the Division, we have been able to provide strategic direction, leadership, and assessment as it relates to climate and staff development needs, in addition to serving as a key resource for campus crisis management and messaging. All of this work will continue, but in a more coordinated way that captures the identity, inclusion, and equity work of staff and students across the Division.

While the realignment is timely, it has been part of a long-planned divisional effort to appropriately align resources and expertise in a way that better serves and supports underrepresented and marginalized populations, and provides leadership for staff-related diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and concerns across the Division. Importantly, this realignment comes as a result of ongoing conversation with the Mosaic staff and divisional leadership related to institutional values and strategic planning. With the recent creation of UMBC’s Office of Equity and Inclusion, this new structure allows us to more effectively align and execute university and divisional policy, practice, and student programming related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We believe strongly that this decision will allow us to even more deeply infuse the University’s values of inclusive excellence, collaboration, innovation, and impact at every level of the institution.

We are grateful for all of the work Jasmine, Lisa, and the entire diversity and inclusion staff do to support our students and address some of the most critical issues of our community. As a Division, we will continue to learn and work together to prepare our students to have a far-reaching impact on campus and beyond.

We look forward to watching this work unfold in the future.

Dr. Nancy Young

Vice President for Student Affairs