Differences run more than skin deep, and Goucher thinks all differences should be celebrated, examined, and valued. This sentiment is reflected in a new pledge drafted by the college’s Diversity Standing Committee.
The committee—composed of faculty, staff, and students—is again meeting regularly after an 18-month hiatus and already is diving into work. The first order of business was the new diversity statement.
Assistant Vice President for Student Success Emily Perl, co-chair of the committee, said the previous version of the pledge was a little long, so a more user-friendly statement was crafted.
“It is easy to say that we believe in diverse ideas and cultivate intercultural learning experiences on campus. It is a bit more difficult to actually name those categories where systemic inequality exists,” she said. “The Diversity Standing Committee was very intentional in choosing to list differences. We want Goucher to be a place that is intentional about addressing, embracing, and valuing these forms of difference.”
Perl said the current committee owes a lot to its predecessors, who wrote an initial statement about respect for diversity on Goucher’s campus. “All of the ideas can be linked back to that,” she said. But the group found many on campus didn’t know about it. “We wanted it to become a more living, breathing statement that gets talked about, so we constructed something that gets at the essence in just one paragraph of four sentences.”
Perl’s co-chair, Associate Professor of English Angelo Robinson, said the new statement directly invokes a call for inclusion in all aspects of identity. “As I see it, the best way to foster a healthy organization, or world for that matter, is to demonstrate by action that all are welcomed, embraced, and respected as equal members,” he said.
Perl said she’s always known Goucher to be a place open to ideas of diversity, but not always as intentional about action as it could be.
“Some of the most significant discoveries I’ve had about myself revolve around understanding concepts of power and privilege as they relate to my identity. As an educator, I believe this type of intrapersonal and interpersonal development and learning is some of the most important work we do,” she said.
Perl said the group hopes to provide a variety of ways for the community to provide feedback. For now, students, faculty, and staff can share their thoughts by emailing diversity@goucher.edu.
Next semester the committee will announce expanded opportunities for the community to interact with the ideas and provide in-person feedback. “The series of events in conjunction with the theme ‘Civil Rights: Past/Present/Future,’ along with the ongoing search for a new assistant dean for intercultural affairs, will also provide us with some tangible ways to continue the conversation,” Perl said.
Assistant Professor of English Johnny Turtle ’93 said he and other committee members serve as diversity educators. “In this regard, we help the community understand how to embrace difference and treat others with fairness,” he said. “A deep, active commitment to diversity is one of the best measures of an enlightened educational community.”
Other overall goals for the group include increased data collection, recruitment of more diverse faculty and staff, services for students and alumnae/i, education and training about diversity issues, and added measures for accountability.