NIU Chief Diversity Officer Vernese Edghill-Walden has an important message for College of Education faculty and staff.
Greetings to the College of Education Faculty and Staff,
At the start of this year, the Committee for Academic Equity and Inclusive Excellence shared a draft of an equity statement with you for your review and feedback. So much has happened since January 2020, but I am happy to announce we received your feedback and incorporated it into an updated final version. Developing this statement was important to our work as an institutional core value and mission. Now, more than ever, the finalized statement demonstrates the vital importance to support all our students’ success.
We appreciate you giving us the opportunity to share the first draft of the equity statement. We heard from over 100 people and visited with 24 shared governance groups. We incorporated your input and feedback in drafting the final iteration of the statement. Your insightful comments were taken into consideration and implemented into the final draft which reads as follows:
Northern Illinois University strives to improve outcomes for all students by identifying and removing barriers that disproportionately hinder the academic achievement and student experience of historically and currently underserved populations.
The equity statement is in the Partnership for College Completion-ILEA Equity Plan for the institution as well as in the Strategic Enrollment Management Plan and the ADEI website.
Here is the link to the NIU Today story about the final statement. Thank you for your continued support and commitment to advancing equity and student success and improving the student experience for all Huskies.
With Huskie Pride,
Vernese
