The University of Dayton's top administrators have pledged to accelerate UD's journey toward becoming a more diverse, inclusive and equitable organization by committing to 11 concrete actions that will mark UD as an anti-racist institution. 

"We recognize that UD is not immune to the kinds of racist systems and behaviors that perpetuate institutional racism. Historically, this has created barriers and persistent disparities on campus and caused pain for our Black students, alumni, faculty, and staff. As a University community, we can — and must — do better," said the 33 administrators in an open letter to the campus community. 

According to the National Museum of African American History and Culture becoming anti-racist is a choice to "become actively conscious about race and racism and take actions to end racial inequities in our daily lives. Being anti-racist is believing that racism is everyone’s problem, and we all have a role to play in stopping it." Anti-racism involves acknowledging and understanding privilege, working to change internalized racism, and interrupting racism when it is encountered.  

"As a Catholic, Marianist university, we believe every person has innate dignity because all people are made in the image and likeness of God. We are called to embrace human diversity, communicate with respect, and to understand, disrupt, and dismantle systemic racism," the letter said.  

The administrators' pledge grows out of the University's long-standing commitment to justice and human rights and work to improve the diversity, equity and inclusivity of UD. In recent years, those efforts have included the establishment of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and a University-wide inclusive excellence plan released last fall.  

Visit An Open Letter to the University of Dayton Community for more information on the administrators' pledge and the 11 action steps.