The St. Olaf Working Group on Equity and Inclusion met on December 6 to further develop our focus and expectations for our charge and opportunities to fully leverage the capabilities of the team.

We spent time discussing what we believe success could look like and what key milestones need to be met to deliver our recommendations in May. We agreed that outside experts could provide valuable insights and best practices for addressing equity and inclusion. Work to identify these experts has already begun.

Prior to the meeting, the Working Group co-chairs met with the co-chairs of the To Include is To Excel grant to understand the scope of the Mellon grant and how we could integrate what they learn from examining St. Olaf’s curriculum with what the Working Group learns through its process. We also discussed other initiatives that are happening on a broader level and are looking for further input from the community.

We appreciate those who participated and provided feedback on the campus climate survey. The Working Group recognizes that we are also learners as part of this process. We have also heard from students and The Collective concerning the DiversityEdu online training. The feedback we’ve been given will be helpful as we assess ongoing education efforts.

The group will meet next week, and several members will attend the Racial Microaggressions in the Classroom and Curriculum: Student Experiences and Perspectives session on December 13.

We continue to approach this work with open hearts and minds, and know that the work in front of us is significant.

Respectfully submitted,

Glenn Taylor ’73 and Phil Milne ’81
Chairs, Working Group on Equity and Inclusion