Officials announced they will host in-person forums in March to update the University on a diversity, equity and inclusion review created last fall in an email to the University community Friday.
The Office of Survey Research and Analysis, responsible for the development, distribution and analysis of University survey results, spent last fall analyzing data from a spring 2022 diversity climate survey which gathered feedback about the status of DEI on campus among students, faculty and staff. Officials will conduct forums to share the findings and “major themes” of the survey, Provost Chris Bracey and Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement Caroline Laguerre-Brown announced in a joint email Friday.
Officials will host the in-person forums Tuesday, March 7, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the University Student Center Continental Ballroom and Wednesday, March 8, from 9 to 10:30 a.m. in the University Student Center Amphitheater, according to the email.
“We are grateful to the community for participating in the survey and providing invaluable insight that will help shape our future diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at the university,” Bracey and Laguerre-Brown said in the email.
Officials created the Diversity Program Review Team in February 2022 to conduct a year-long review of diversity at GW with plans to make recommendations to officials on improving campus-wide diversity in spring 2023.
The forums are the fifth of seven phases the review team plans to administer. In phase six, the officials will employ a diversity review team to assess officials’ work and make recommendations to officials, and in phase seven, they will submit a “concrete” action plan for University leadership, including “specific deliverables, timeline and resources needed,” according to the review team’s website.
Former Provost Brian Blake originally intended to conduct an external audit of campus diversity before Bracey succeeded him, reversed the decision and announced an internal review in its place in September 2021.
Bracy said the public DEI survey, which opened April 19 and closed May 20, would inform decisions to improve DEI across campus.
Members of the University community who are unable to attend the forums will be able to watch a recorded version and provide feedback on the review team’s website, according to the email.
