Establish Ubiquitous Diversity, Equity, Access and Inclusion

The Grainger College of Engineering has long embraced the importance of a respectful, diverse and inclusive community. However, we will ensure that diversity, equity, access and inclusion are core values of the college and its constituents. Our success in promoting these values, using quantitative analytics, will lead to recognition by our community, our peers and stakeholders and accelerate our excellence. We are determined to increase support for and improve:

  • College-wide equity, access and inclusion despite the challenges of scaling such efforts to meet the needs of more than 14,000 students, 1,000 staff, and 500 faculty
  • Training and education for inclusivity
  • Recruitment pipelines to further diversify our student body, staff, faculty and leadership cadre
  • The supportive culture and climate for all our students, staff and faculty

The fulfillment of these objectives will establish Grainger Engineering as a model with regard to incorporating diversity, equity, access and inclusion as core values and vital elements in the generation of the most creative and best solutions to challenges facing our society and our planet. As a result of our efforts, we will become leaders in the rigorous understanding and quantification of issues and best practices as they related to diversity, equity, access and inclusion.  The resulting informed actions we will take will result in continued improvements in culture and climate. Those improvements will be assessed from climate studies and accelerated progress towards our goals of reaching gender parity, racial/ethnic representation, and improvements in all other measures of diversity amongst our students, faculty, staff and administrative leaders. Furthermore, Grainger Engineering will be a vital partner to corporations and other stakeholders seeking the full participation of a diversified workforce in their organizations.

Major Initiatives

This strategic direction encompasses four major initiatives:

  • Creating a shared vision and implementing through a Diversity Institute
  • Creating and implementing mechanisms for diversity and inclusion college-wide
  • Developing effective and authentic training and education for inclusivity
  • Concentrating on under-engaged and underserved populations