Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement
I’m not sure how many of you were able to read the email that went out from Dr. Nasim today regarding the work of the Division of Inclusive Excellence. I’d like to draw your attention to it for a number of reasons, but first and foremost, because it takes a quantitative approach to measuring diversity and inclusion at VCU. Specifically, there are three measures that Dr. Nasim has used to rank the various departments at VCU.
The first of these measures is called the “Diversity Index” and is a real measure of the diversity of the faculty, staff and leadership of the individual units. The Inclusion Index is the second measure and is based on survey’s to measure environment for open dialogue, equity in conduct and collaboration. The third index focuses on Engagement and is again survey based to measure the ability of supervisors at all levels to engage our faculty and staff.
These index scores are then used to rank all of the academic and administrative units. The Division of Administration is ranked 11th if you were wondering. Not bad …
I believe this endeavor to be bold action on the part of VCU in measuring the diversity and inclusion of the various colleges, schools, and departments that make up our community. This type of data is not normally shared, nor even measured in higher education. I do believe though that this is the type of thing that sets VCU apart from other institutions.
I recognize that this blog has nothing to do with safety and risk management. However, it does have everything to do with what VCU is going to become. I feel that the transparency with which this was undertaken should be a model for all that we do.