Commitment to Diversity Plan

The primary goal of Stetson's Commitment to Diversity Plan is to proactively promote diversity through administrative directive by creating an atmosphere of inclusion, openness, and appreciation for all individuals and groups. We further seek to increase the level of awareness within the University community of the educational benefits of diversity. We will also work to provide students, faculty, and staff with an opportunity to interact with those of diverse backgrounds and across areas that are traditionally gender restricted. We will identify policies, programs, and practices that do not also reflect the interests and achievements of underrepresented groups at the University and, once identified, to foster the removal of those non-supportive structures and procedures.

The Commitment to Diversity Plan is our means of setting goals and evaluating progress. The plan will be communicated with internal and external communication, and networks will be established to support its goals. The plan and our public relations efforts will be evaluated annually to determine the level of success in implementing the specific strategy objectives. The University Diversity Council will serve as the coordination body for implementing this plan and a comprehensive calendar to help focus our work. In addition, the ALANA Council and the Women's Council will serve as advisory groups to the Diversity Council. And, Diversity Consultant Rita Nethersole's recommendations will be used as benchmarks for evaluation.

Commitment to Diversity as a Core Value

Stetson University affirms its mission, heritage, and values as we move forward to build a united and inclusive community.

During the 1997-98 year, the President and a group of faculty and staff engaged in a year-long discussion of the University's value commitments. The result was a reaffirmation of values as central to our educational mission and the centrality of our commitment to be an "inclusive community."

Specific beliefs provided the foundation for our values:

  • The dignity, worth, and equality of all persons.

  • The importance of community in human life.

  • The inherent strength and value of diversity in any community of active learners.

  • The authenticity of diverse opinions and ideas, even when different from one's own.

  • The mandate for ethical decision-making and social responsibility as a central component for community.

We will focus our future on building bridges between the religious and secular communities. As a community of scholars we value academic excellence, integrity, and freedom. It follows from these goals that Stetson is also dedicated to creating and enriching an inclusive community that reflects an awareness and appreciation of the contributions of the different traditions reflected in a pluralistic society. The Stetson community is committed to instilling the values of ethical decision making, global awareness, environmental awareness, community service and civic responsibility. Hence, we believe in the values of class equity, gender equity and race equity and vigorously strive to achieve an environment that creates and sustains these values.

Stetson University affirms that women and men of diverse racial, ethnic, religious, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds are fundamental to the process of education. For this reason, the University's diversity plan articulates the University's belief that diversity is integral to education. Stetson strives to fulfill its commitment to diversity by focusing on five specific strategies:

  • to create and foster a diverse community that appreciates, encourages, and protects all of its members
  • to establish an environment in which all members participate in the intellectual, spiritual, and social life of the institution as well as in its decision-making process.
  • to provide contact with a diverse group of students, faculty, and staff, as well as foster an intellectual experience that recognizes, understands, and esteems the distinctive contributions of these diverse groups.
  • to encourage our students to be become well-informed, responsible, and positive world citizens who have an appreciation and capacity to relate to people of differing cultures.
  • to regularly investigate the status, success, and/or shortcomings of our efforts and to make these results public.
  • The articulation of the importance of achieving an inclusive and diverse community obligates the University to devote resources and energies to specific commitments for the 1998-2003 strategic plan period. These commitments challenge Stetson to combat racism, sexism, ethnocentrism, heterosexism, and religious discrimination in order to enact and sustain a diverse community of equals. The specific obligations include:
  • seeking out and eradicating discriminatory structures and procedures
  • combating intolerance within the institution, in the curriculum, and in the daily life of the community
  • working to rectify the historical exclusion as well as the limitations placed on many who have sought higher education
  • to recognize a special responsibility and mission to expedite the inclusion of U.S., underrepresented racial-ethnic groups, international persons, and women of all races in the educational community at all levels
  • a special vigilance in combating discrimination against groups that have traditionally been neglected or marginalized
  • to recruit and employ faculty and staff from underrepresented groups.

Goals/Focal Points for Action

OVERALL GOAL: To embrace our values commitments and become an inclusive community.

GOAL 1: To increase diversity representation among:

  • Students
  • Faculty (in general and ALANA initiatives)
  • Staff and Support Staff
  • Governance constituencies (Trustees, College Boards, etc.)

Note: Use Faculty Diversity Initiative recruitment process as a model for all future recruitment programs.

GOAL 2: To improve the campus climate to embrace diversity and our becoming an inclusive community.

  • Diversity Workshops
  • Cross Cultural Center
  • Continue Climate Study
  • Howard Thurman Program
  • Outreach Efforts

GOAL 3: To expand curricular offerings.

  • Africana Studies Minor
  • Latin American Studies
  • Women and Gender Studies (include GLBT offerings)

GOAL 4: To expand outreach efforts.

  • Office of Community Service
  • Thurman Cultural Park
  • Spring Hill/HAND

GOAL 5: Integrate diversity value initiatives into our Marketing/Advertising Plan.