Millersville University Inclusive Excellence Statement

A Working Definition

• What is Inclusive Excellence?

  1. A focus on student intellectual and social development.
     Academically, it means offering the best possible course of study for the context in which the
     education is offered.
  2. A purposeful development and utilization of organizational resources to enhance student learning. Organizationally, it means establishing an environment that challenges each student to achieve academically at high levels and each member of the campus to contribute to learning and knowledge development.
  3. Attention to the cultural differences learners bring to the educational experience and enhance the enterprise. Cultural differences include race/ethnicity (e.g., Latino, Caucasian, Asian/Pacific Islander, African American, American Indian), class, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, first language, physical and learning ability, and learning style.
  4. A welcoming community that engages all its diversity in the service of student and organizational learning. Inequities challenge higher education leaders to think deeply and more systematically about reducing disparities and meaningfully including diverse groups in higher education.

  Inclusive Excellence encompasses the processes within Millersville University that purposefully values differences for the ultimate purpose of promoting the learning, critical thinking, and personal enrichment of students, faculty, and staff. It aims to build “a welcoming campus community” for all its students, faculty, and staff.

  Inclusive Excellence recognizes diversity in thought, learning, and personal characteristics that can be tapped and understood in the working, living, and learning environments of the University. Inclusive Excellence enables us to engage in civil conversation with those who hold views that differ from our own; to engage in civil debate on key issues with others who hold different views and positions, and to socialize with persons who have had differing lived experiences. Also, in class, clinical, and field experience settings, Inclusive Excellence is addressed through ample opportunities to learn about diverse cultures locally, nationally, and globally.

  Inclusive Excellence includes university protocols and policies for the admission and graduation of diverse students from racial and ethnic backgrounds, and social backgrounds, and for the hiring and retention of faculty, administrators, and staff with diverse experiences and perspectives.

  Through Inclusive Excellence experiences, students can develop knowledge and personal abilities that may enhance their critical thinking, and learning, and better enable them to meaningfully contribute to society as graduates of Millersville University.

  The purpose of this definition is to provide departments with a guide to building an action plan to help the University address Strategic Direction 2 Transform Student Experiences and Foster Innovation Goal 3

  If you or your department would like to engage in a conversation about how to build your action plan or other questions, please contact Carlos Wiley CDIO at carlos.wiley@millersville.edu

  Diversity 

  • Diversity is expressed in myriad forms, including race and ethnicity, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, language, culture, national origins, religious commitments, age, ability status, political perspective, thought, and more.  

  Equity 

  • Equity is actively working to remove the systemic and oppressive forces that act as barriers for student success.  

  Inclusion 

  • Inclusion is creating a campus community where differences are welcomed and respectfully heard and where every individual feels a sense of belonging, and it requires intentional and deliberate strategies. 

  Social Justice 

  • Taking concrete steps to ensure the physical and psychological safety and security of students, faculty, and staff.  
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