What are the definitions of diversity and inclusion?
What is diversity?
UA’s long tradition of access and inclusion has created a diverse student body. UA students represent a diverse range of human experience with respect to approaches and perspectives that stem from differences in culture, personal attributes, social group membership, and circumstance. Such differences among students include, but are not limited to:
- First-generation college students;
- Students from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds including socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds;
- U.S. ethnic minorities;
- Geographic location including rural communities;
- Students who identify as LGBTQ;
- Students with disabilities;
- Students underrepresented in higher education in comparison to Arizona and national high school university eligibility rates;
- International students, who speak and communicate in a variety of languages;
- Non-traditional students, including adult learners;
- Students with differing gender identities; and
- Students with varying religious backgrounds, or who identify with no particular religious background.
What is inclusion?
Inclusion is defined as, “The active, intentional, and ongoing engagement with diversity—in people, in the curriculum, in the co-curriculum, and in communities (intellectual, social, cultural, geographical) with which individuals might connect—in ways that increase one’s awareness, content knowledge, cognitive sophistication, and empathic understanding of the complex ways individuals interact within systems and institutions” (AAC&U, 2009, ¶ 3).
How are diversity and inclusion different?
While a diverse student population is necessary for student development, the benefits of diversity are not automatic and do not simply occur from a diverse campus. Researchers stress that institutions must become inclusive places by working in intentional ways to increase educational benefits for students and for the institution (Milem, Chang, & Antonio, 2005).