Office of Academic Affairs

The Racial and Ethnic Diversity Initiative at SPU

A Word About Our Commitment to Diversity

From the President's Assumptions on the Blueprint for Excellence
— President Philip W. Eaton

The gospel calls us to ensure, in every way we are capable, that all of God's children flourish. When we are a community of embrace, rather than exclusion, to use Miroslav Volf's terms, we are following the mandate of the gospel. Our vision to engage the culture and change the world tells us that we must address the challenge of racial reconciliation. We have a three-pronged strategy:

  1. To increase the percentage of students, faculty, staff and trustees of color.
  2. To improve our campus culture and environment to welcome racial and ethnic diversity.
  3. To build bridges with our urban partners for meaningful, trusting collaboration, and partnership in the task of community development.
This is a critical part of our Blueprint, carefully, strategically, and wisely integrated in all that we do. Our goals and expectations must be reasonable and our approach must be collaborative and balanced. This commitment must be an area of real unity, guided and informed by the gospel and our vision, and should steer clear what might divide us further.

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