Dear DePaul Faculty, Staff and Students,
We write today to share a beginning of the year update on our Black Equity Initiative committee’s work. Before we share the wins from the 2023-24 academic year and next steps for this academic year, we encourage you to revisit the goal of the BEI and its five pillars from our community message in fall 2023.
2023-24 wins
The committee devoted the past academic year to planning. We wanted to think through our goals, mission and purpose strategically. Our goal is to effect actual change at the university. We fully believe that if we can make life better at DePaul for one group of people who are marginalized, it will make life better for everyone who is marginalized or any student who joins DePaul’s community.
The achievements we are most proud of this year include:
- Composing a committee of Black faculty, staff and students from all over the university to come together to identify key priorities for the BEI. These priorities will guide our efforts and ensure that we are addressing the most pressing needs of the Black community at DePaul.
- The committee developed a comprehensive strategic framework that outlines the goals and objectives for the initiative. This framework includes key areas such as student recruitment, retention and graduation; faculty and staff success; and integrating inclusive curriculum university-wide.
- The committee has been diligently preparing for the implementation of Phase One, which will include critical activities such as data collection, stakeholder engagement and the implementation of educational sessions. These efforts are aimed at ensuring a smooth and impactful path for the initiative.
- We have created a detailed plan that outlines the steps necessary to achieve our goals. This plan includes timelines, resources needed and specific actions to be taken, ensuring a clear path forward.
What's Next
Now that we have priorities and a strategic plan framework in place, we will use the fall quarter to hear from our students through focus groups. We’ve worked with IRMA, resource groups from around the university, and Darryl Arrington, associate vice president for student retention and success, to identify a wide variety of students to participate. We are working to ensure as many different perspectives can be shared and heard. Students interested in participating in a focus group, or those who would like to share feedback or ideas around BEI, are asked to email
diversitymatters@depaul.edu with the subject “Focus Groups.”
We also plan to visit leadership groups such as Faculty Council, Staff Council and SGA to gather perspectives and invite feedback. The committee aims to have focus group results available by February 2025.
This work takes time, and we are grateful for the community members at DePaul who are willing to do this work. We are excited for what’s to come and invite you to stay updated to our work by visiting the
Designing DePaul Black Equity Initiative page.
Sincerely,
Associate Director, Black Equity Initiative Committee Chair
Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity
Interim Vice President
Office of Institutional Diversity & Equity