DEI Strategic Plan

FLC is committed to creating an inclusive campus that prepares our students to create a more equitable world by emphasizing that diversity, equity and inclusion are hallmarks of our educational experience. It is in that spirit that we have collectively created a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Plan that will serve as a blueprint for us to maintain a learning and living environment that will allow for all students, faculty and staff to have a stronger sense of well-being. This plan has been developed with input from students, staff, and faculty and has been endorsed by ASFLC, Staff Council, and Faculty Senate. We hope you will join us on this journey to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion at Fort Lewis College!

  • Phase One
  • Phase Two
  • Ongoing
Phase One

Engage the FLC community in understanding and valuing DEI

  • Build on current DEI Affinity Centers and programming.
  • Partner with student and employee groups to develop innovative approaches to sustain DEI for all community members.
  • Acknowledge and reward DEI change agents.
  • Ensure that the entire College understands that this plan is a collective endeavor.

Offer professional development in cultural competency

  • Develop training modules, workshops, seminars, town halls, and campus dialogues for students, faculty, and staff.
  • For employees, begin with onboarding and continue throughout their careers; for students, begin during orientation and continue through curricular and co-curricular programming.
  • Areas of emphasis:
    • Ableism: the discrimination in favor of able-bodied people
    • Bullying
    • FLC history
    • Implicit bias: attitudes towards people or associated stereotypes with them without our conscious knowledge
    • Multiculturalism: the preservation of different cultures or cultural identities within a unified society, as a state or nation
    • Sexual misconduct: misconduct that includes sexual harassment, sexual assault, and any conduct of a sexual nature that is without consent, or has the effect of threatening or intimidating the person against whom such conduct is directed
    • Systemic racism: a form of racism that is embedded in the laws and regulations of a society or an organization. It manifests as discrimination in areas such as criminal justice, employment, housing, health care, education, and political representation.
    • Tribalism: tribal consciousness and loyalty; especially: exaltation of the tribe above other groups.
    • International perspectives: the ability to view issues—in our increasingly globalized world—from the point of view of people living in (or coming from) other countries
    • Returning to the community: helping prepare students to return to transform their communities.

Ensure safety and security of campus and Durango communities

  • Create a holistic framework to ensure a strong sense of safety and belonging on campus.
  • Coordinate efforts with student and employee groups.
  • Strengthen working relationship with Durango Chamber of Commerce to ensure that students of color have equal access to employment opportunities.
  • Continue to work closely with Campus Police to incorporate Transformative Justice values and practices.
  • Re-envision and strengthen working relationships with local law enforcement agencies.
Phase Two

Enhance the diversity of our campus

  • Increase the diversity of student enrollment.*
  • Increase the diversity of faculty across all academic areas.*
  • Increase the diversity of staff,* throughout the college – Admission, Housing, Counseling, Advising, Peer Education, Police, Health Center, etc.

Provide support for the campus community to be successful

  • Increase curricular offerings to align with the recruitment of more diverse faculty.*
  • Enhance academic outcomes for diverse students.*
  • Improve postgraduate outcomes for diverse students.*
  • Strengthen and enhance DEI professional development opportunities for all faculty and staff.*

 

*Marginalized communities include Black, Indigenous, People of Color, Latinx, multiracial, LGBTQIA+, Disabled, and others

Ongoing

Develop intentional policies and practices

  • Examine policies through an antiracist* and equity-minded lens and amend any policies or practices to be more appropriate and respectful.
  • Ensure that revised policies and procedures will address identified barriers or hindrances to success.
  • Strengthen and enhance reporting and investigative processes and procedures.

Provide continuous evaluation and assessment

  • Establish a Diversity Leadership Council comprised of students, faculty, and staff.
  • Create an Implementation Plan for identified DEI goals and objectives.
  • Build an evaluation dashboard to inform data-driven decisions regarding DEI initiatives.
  • Monitor campus climate for students, faculty, and staff.
  • Provide regular updates regarding progress and implementation.

 

*Anti-Racism is the practice of actively identifying and opposing racism. The goal of anti-racism is to actively change policies, behaviors, and beliefs that perpetuate racist ideas and actions.