College Launches Equity, Justice & Inclusion Fund

“Campus today is very different from previous generations,” says the UW College of Arts and Sciences Associate Dean for Equity, Justice, and Inclusion (EJI) Maya Smith. “One-third of today’s students are the first in their family to go to college and so don’t have that generational life experience and support to draw from. A lot of times, they turn to faculty and staff.”  

Ensuring that faculty and staff are equipped to support students within a culture of equity, justice and inclusion is why Arts & Sciences Dean Dianne Harris created Smith’s position in 2022. Then, this year, the college launched the EJI Fund to provide additional resources for this effort. The College is now working to grow the fund, with the ultimate goal of an endowment to support this work in perpetuity. 

At the heart of the vision for this work is creating a thriving multi-disciplinary collective of problem-solvers equipped to increase the common good and shape the future of education around what students and communities care about now and into the future. After gathering information across the college and conducting audits, listening sessions, and an EJI climate survey that more than 1,000 faculty and staff members completed, Smith is in the process of identifying the college’s strengths, gaps and opportunities where funding will have the greatest impact.  

Smith talks about the need for many entry points and pathways for students. By providing faculty and staff with EJI mentorship, training, and resources, students will more readily find the guidance and support they need. In addition, this critical work will be shared rather than disproportionally carried by a subset of staff and faculty. It’s an approach that increases retention, a sense of belonging and people feeling valued. 

“Access is at the center for all this,” Smith says. “Access for faculty and staff, access for students, and understanding the role faculty and staff play in student access.” 

Then, there are the big questions that cross disciplines. “I’m excited about people trained in various areas across the arts and sciences thinking about how they can apply those things to teaching, service and institution building,” says Smith. “It’s not just about making collaboration more porous between different parts of the college, but also recognizing that EJI work is integral to everything we do.”  

The fund will provide seed money and support people coming together where their efforts intersect, with EJI collectively increasing how far they can go.   

Smith also imagines using the fund to collaborate with and build on the work of the UW Center for Teaching and Learning in such areas as curricular development and pedagogical practices. “How do we think about the classroom so that it supports all students, whether that be in facilitating difficult conversations in culturally diverse classrooms or in leveraging resources and technology to reduce barriers for neurodivergent students, for example,” she asks.  

What’s exciting in all this is how much is happening simultaneously both within the College of Arts and Sciences and across UW. Alongside work in the Dean’s office, the College Council, and the Faculty Senate, Smith and the EJI Fund will help weave it all together. “There is no better time than the present,” she says. “We are doing this work with authenticity; we have philosophy and vision, and now it’s time to make it real.” 

We invite you to partner with the College of Arts & Sciences to advance equity and justice across our campus through a gift to the Equity, Justice & Inclusion fund today.