Achieving Inclusive Excellence

A core belief of the Catholic Marianist tradition is that each person is created in the image and likeness of God. It is this belief in the dignity of all people that requires all members of the University of Dayton community to embrace and value the unique gifts that come from our diverse faculty, staff and students. Further, we believe that we cannot achieve true excellence unless we value and embrace a diverse community that welcomes, supports and encourages all members to contribute their voice and to achieve their personal best.

Cultural Impact Objectives

Proactively and vigorously recruit diverse and expert faculty and staff to enrich our welcoming and inclusive environment.

• Expand hiring pools by more broadly defining faculty and staff positions where possible.
• Work with Provost’s office to offer competitive start-up packages.
• Work with Provost’s office and regional institutions to consider dual career strategies.
• Document and standardize best practices for hiring in a hiring handbook. Ensure that search committees and people involved in hiring give appropriate attention to diversity throughout the entire hiring process.
• Provide ongoing training for faculty and staff on issues related to the value of a diverse workforce and implicit bias, particularly as it relates to the hiring process.
• Survey faculty and staff applicants and new hires to assess effective and ineffective recruitment and hiring strategies and use that data to focus and tailor future recruiting efforts.
• Re-envision the promotion and tenure process to recognize a broader range of faculty activities, to encourage inclusive teaching practices, to specifically acknowledge scholarship on diversity, equity and inclusion, and to provide for a more equitable, fair, robust and consistent evaluation process.

Lead peer institutions in the recruitment, retention and successful graduation of underrepresented populations including women and domestic minority students.

• Strengthen infrastructure to assess and evaluate SoE student climate related to diversity.
• Work proactively with Enrollment Management and the Office of Multicultural Affairs to recruit women and underrepresented minority undergraduate students.
• Work collaboratively with University Advancement and Enrollment Management to provide competitive financial support for women and underrepresented minority students.
• Utilize institutional support programs and improve School of Engineering academic and social support programs for underrepresented students to maximize academic success, persistence to graduation and placement.
• Incentivize faculty and staff participation to support diversity programming.
• Work collaboratively with campus partners to implement an intercultural competence assessment for students, faculty and staff.

Enhance the intercultural competence of our faculty, staff and students through educational and experiential opportunities aimed at helping them understand the value of diversity.

• Articulate the School of Engineering messaging on diversity and communicate those messages to faculty, staff and other stakeholders.
• Integrate academic components to educate students about diversity and leverage that learning to maximize personal, professional and team effectiveness.
• Integrate and leverage professional development programs for faculty and staff showcasing the value of diversity to realize our inclusive learning community and to maximize personal and professional effectiveness.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Goals for the School of Engineering

GOAL #1

Strengthen the recruitment, retention and advancement of diverse faculty, staff and students through the development and use of equitable practices and processes.

GOAL #2

Inspire, strengthen and sustain a shared responsibility and participation for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.

GOAL #3

Provide incentives, resources and professional development opportunities to help faculty and staff build on, integrate and grow student curricular and co-curricular learning and development opportunities that enhance student understanding and practice of diversity, equity and inclusion.

GOAL #4

Develop and enhance relationships with SoE stakeholders (e.g., suppliers, community partners, industry partners, advisory boards, invited speakers) within the Dayton community and beyond whose overall combined composition advances our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion practices and education.

GOAL #5

Establish an impactful and effective SoE infrastructure to support transparent continuous qualitative and quantitative assessment of SoE measurable outcomes to advance diversity, equity and inclusion.