A group of students conversing on in front of Parrington Hall.

Equity, Justice and Inclusion (EJI)

In the College of Arts & Sciences, we value and honor diverse experiences and perspectives in our teaching and research and strive to create welcoming and equitable learning environments, and promote access, opportunity and justice for all.

The College’s Vision & Action Plan

The College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) commits to co-creating an environment where faculty, staff, and students can, as a community, achieve new dimensions of positive change. With this in mind, CAS’s leadership aims to support dialogue, reciprocal partnerships, and care in our classrooms, in our on-campus and off-campus communities, and ultimately our lives. Our EJI (Equity, Justice, and Inclusion) vision and action plan is the product of community input, and is intended to support an environment where communities that have been historically excluded in higher education are treated with dignity and respect. This vision also undergirds our shared pursuit of a more equitable and just society; a society that is intimately tied to our work as faculty and staff.

University-wide Efforts

The College works in collaboration with greater UW initiatives to support aspirations to become a truly inclusive and equitable environment for learning, research, service, and outreach. The UW’s Race & Equity Initiative, launched in 2015, challenges all — students, faculty, staff and university leadership — to confront racism, take personal responsibility for addressing our own biases, and improve our university culture. The Diversity Blueprint articulates 6 overarching goals for creating a more equitable university, and the new DEIB training provides professional development for faculty and staff with the purpose of eliminating structural racism and promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

In 2019, the UW commissioned its largest-ever climate survey across all three campuses to examine faculty, staff and student experiences and their feelings of belonging as part of  the community. Feedback was gathered from more than 18,000 respondents and the information will help create more equitable living, learning and working environments, as well as shape the University’s work to prevent and respond to sexual assault and misconduct.

Bronze W

UW Race & Equity Initiative

People walking in UW Seattle Quad

UW Diversity Blueprint

Graphic for Climate Survey that reads: Your Voice, Your UW. Student, Faculty & Staff Climate Survey

UW Climate Survey

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Anti-Racism and DEI&B in the Workplace

Stories and Opportunities

Learn more about current events, initiatives and people supporting diversity, equity, inclusion & access work in the College and beyond.

People on adaptive bicycles in Magnuson Park.

Learning While Playing in the Great Outdoors

Combining classroom time and outdoors experiences, a Disability Studies course explores what it means to provide access and disability justice for community members in recreation spaces.

Ralina Joseph holding a microphone and speaking, with an Interrupting Privilege display panel behind her, at the Northwest African American Museum.

Interrupting Privilege Starts with Listening

Personal stories are integral to Interrupting Privilege, a UW program that leans into difficult intergenerational discussions about race and privilege.

Markus Teuton playing guitar on stage

Celebrating Contemporary Indigenous Music

Markus Teuton, a musician and citizen of Cherokee Nation, explores contemporary Indigenous music through his academic work and as host of “Indigenous Jazz,” a radio show.

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Associate Dean for Equity, Justice, and Inclusion

Maya Smith

 

View CAS LEadership Profile

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portrait of Maya Smith