The Elliott School of International Affairs’ annual diversity action plan is four months late as officials work to comply with the outlawing of affirmative action.
Elliott School officials were expected to review and release its annual Inclusive Excellence plan in September — the plan details specific goals and strategies to advance diversity, equity and inclusion at the school. But leaders helping to develop the plan said they had to rework the contents of the plan after the Supreme Court’s June decision to end affirmative action, delaying the release of their fifth action plan for the 2023-24 academic year.
Lakeisha Harrison, the Elliott School’s assistant dean for student services, diversity, equity and inclusion, said Elliott officials and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are working to draft strategies for the 2023 action plan that comply with the Supreme Court’s decision. She declined to say when the 2023 action plan will be released or what goals will be included.
“We continue our review in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling and look forward to sharing it with the community when it is ready,” Harrison said in an email.
Elliott leaders released the first annual diversity action plan in 2019 and proceeded to release plans annually through 2022. The Elliott School’s dean; Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council; and school leaders draft and review an action plan each summer, according to the school’s DEI page.
The 2022 action plan centered around four goals: to recruit more diverse students, improve the “climate of inclusion” at the school, incorporate more DEI and social justice into the curriculum and create infrastructure to prioritize these goals. The 2021 and 2020 action plans included the same overarching pillars but outlined strategies for achieving them like increasing funding for diversity fellowships and improving already established resources and events like cultural activities and focus groups.
Harrison declined to comment on whether officials are still working to complete goals from the 2022 action plan or how many of the goals were completed at the end of the academic year.
Harrison said officials received approval during the 2022-23 academic year to install a gender-neutral bathroom in the school, held six cultural heritage month programs and awarded undergraduate and graduate scholarships through the Elliott Equity Fund. She said officials also ran the third annual Inclusive Excellence Week conference in 2023 and will run the fourth this year: this week from Monday through Thursday.
Members of the Elliott School’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council said the council is revising the school’s DEI statement, drafting a land and labor acknowledgment and growing inclusive teaching resources in the absence of an action plan.
Eric Kramon, the faculty co-chair of the council and an associate professor of political science and international affairs, said the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion hasn’t shared a draft of the 2023 action plan with the council and attributed the delay to staff turnover and the affirmative action decision. He expects to see a plan later in the year.
“We expect to have action plans every year, and we’ll advocate for that if needed,” Kramon said.
He said one of the council’s first major projects since its creation by the Office of the Provost in August 2022 is reworking the DEI statement to better reflect the school’s current efforts to create and maintain an inclusive environment. He said the council adjusted the statement with feedback from faculty, staff and students, and is now modifying the draft with input from Elliott School Dean Alyssa Ayres on the most inclusive and effective language to use.
The current diversity statement, last updated in 2016, says the Elliott School is prioritizing increasing representation and inclusion of individuals historically disadvantaged in the U.S. international affairs community and higher education. Elliott School officials and faculty aim to create a generation of leaders focused on equity, respect, inclusion and civil discourse, according to the statement.
“The dean felt and we agreed that lots of things have changed in the world since the first draft and lots of peoples’ understandings of diversity and inclusion have changed over time,” Kramon said. “It seemed like a good opportunity to rethink and redraft.”
Danielle Whyte, the undergraduate representative of the council and a junior studying international affairs, said the council is working with Ayres to redraft the school’s DEI statement, which has not been updated since 2016, to include inclusive language for all community members. She said the council is in the final stages of revising drafts of the statement that Ayres then reviews.
“Anyone can take a template and write a corporate DEI statement,” Whyte said. “But what does it mean to make one that matches the school, one that makes it so that you can see this level of commitment in your professors, in your fellow peers?”
Whyte said council members this semester are also drafting a land and labor acknowledgment for the Elliott School to be displayed on the website. She said the council will submit the proposal to Ayres for review when the draft is completed.
Whyte said she is confident that the Elliott School will release the 2023 action plan after the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ensures their goals comply with the Supreme Court’s affirmative action decision.
“We have to ensure that we’re aligned with the court’s decision and also remain committed to our values as the Elliott School,” Whyte said.
