USU Sets Goals, Creates Council to Promote Inclusivity

The Utah State University Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has completed several key planning and organizational tasks, including the creation of a DEI council to help implement the university’s “roadmap to inclusive excellence.”

Putting these pieces in place has been a priority for Jane Irungu, who was selected as USU’s first vice president for DEI last summer. Irungu has been on the Logan campus since July 1.

“It was important that we provide guidance on how DEI principles and practices were going to be operationalized at USU,” Irungu said. “They will be engrained into our everyday work, interactions and systems.”

The roadmap to inclusive excellence outlines three major goals for USU:

• Create an inclusive and equitable campus community.
• Recruit, retain and cultivate a diverse student population.
• Recruit, retain and cultivate a diverse faculty and staff.

Each goal is supported with specific objectives and suggested strategies to achieve those goals. With this framework in place, Irungu said, a coordinated approach can begin.

“It is not just up to the DEI division to do this work,” Irungu said. “This roadmap is a university-wide vision, and everyone at USU is responsible for making it a reality. Each division, department or office can look at this plan and see where their work can help accomplish a certain objective, or which strategies can be implemented in their processes.”

The DEI council reflects this university-wide approach, with more than 60 faculty and staff members from across USU’s colleges, campuses, divisions and departments. The council was formed in September to support the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in implementing strategic priorities.

“The council’s major role is to review the framework and outline priorities in several focus areas: faculty, staff, undergraduate students, graduate students, education and training and alumni and community partnerships,” Irungu said. Members of the council recently met with university leadership, faculty, staff and students at a DEI social on Dec. 5.

The Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion promotes USU’s commitment to a diverse, equitable and inclusive institutional culture where everyone feels welcome and valued. The division works to coordinate DEI efforts across the university and also oversees the Inclusion Center, Latinx Cultural Center and Disability Resource Center, as well as the USU Eastern Center for Diversity & Inclusion.

Irungu is now working to educate the university community about the roadmap and encouraging employees to identify where they can help meet objectives. “We expect that departments and administrative units will review the framework and use it to prepare their own plans that align with these university goals,” she said.

The DEI council has also identified priorities, timelines and suggestions on how to assess progress and is expected to share those with the university community in early spring.

Anyone who has questions about the roadmap or is seeking advice on how to implement strategies in their department can contact the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. For more information about the division and its work, visit usu.edu/dei.