Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 

The Levin College of Public Affairs and Education' commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the core of our long history as a vibrant and engaged college that directly responds to inequity and inequality in Greater Cleveland, and that is committed to the ongoing training and support of the many great leaders, who are, and have been, an integral part of our regional service community. We are also proud of our role in fostering nationally and internationally renowned scholars and practitioners who share our dedication to Public Service, Leadership, and Change. 

As a College community we reaffirm our commitment to urban education and public service disciplines. Our fellowship of faculty, staff, and students have worked together to establish a learning community to discuss concerns, challenges, and aspirations for our College and our respective schools, departments, and programs. We have also stretched ourselves to consider ways in which we can advance the dialogue toward action. In collective agreement, we have decided to advance this work through a small group approach that will mitigate systemic racism and identify barriers that impact student success. We are committed to: 

• Providing ample space for dialogue to occur about justice related topics among our faculty and staff. 

• Examining our data on our student retention, our admission data in all our programs, data on our internships and student teaching, and data on our petitions. 

• Evaluating our policies through an equity lens and intervene as needed scrutinizing our curriculum, and redoubling our efforts to promote social justice and equity programming to better support the development of prospective leaders in urban education and human service disciplines. 

• Assembling and centralizing resources that will benefit our entire community. 

• Collaborating with our Dean’s Diversity Committees on justice-based professional development opportunities. 

We embrace our opportunity to grow as a College and to sustain these collective efforts to bring about actionable change for our entire College community. 

By capturing multiple resources in a single place, our Dean’s Diversity Councils serve the College, the University, and the community at large by providing ready access to local, regional, and national sources of information that can be used to promote inclusiveness. Our Diversity Councils affirm their commitment to: 

• Develop strategies and practices to both recruit and retain a diverse faculty, staff, and student body, and encourage student success. 

• Create a high-profile culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the College at all levels, while serving as a model and resource to the community. 

• Foster a vigorous commitment to guiding and supporting students from traditionally marginalized backgrounds, and to reduce and eliminate gaps in achievement, retention, and graduation rates. 

Learn about our Dean’s Diversity Council. »