Campus Culture

Diversity Statement

Westminster College is dedicated to social justice, equity, and respect as fundamental components of our mission and core values. Informed by our college-wide learning goals, Westminster acknowledges and engages with the values, experiences, worldviews, and intersectional identities and characteristics of all members of our campus community. Furthermore, we strive for Inclusive Excellence by consistently interweaving diversity and inclusion into our curricula and co-curricular activities, programs, policies, practices, and external engagement. It is our goal to cultivate a respectful, equitable, and healthy campus community.

As part of this statement, we define diversity as individual differences, life experiences, group/social differences (e.g., race/ethnicity, class, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, nationality, and disability), historically underrepresented groups, and groups with cultural, political, religious/spiritual, or other affiliations.

This Diversity Statement is further supported by our Commitment to an Inclusive Westminster, the President’s Statement on Safe Haven, and our equal opportunity, ADA, and Title IX policies.

Campus Diversity Committees

Westminster Diversity Council

As a committee within Faculty Senate, the Diversity Council works to advocate for equity and excellence through Westminster's policies, practices, and programs, with a keen focus on curriculum, faculty recruitment and retention, training and education, and equity.

Diversity Engagement Team

The Diversity Engagement Team comprises representatives from across campus who provide updates on efforts related to diversity and inclusion, share concerns or issues related to campus culture, and identify opportunities for collaboration and innovation.

Diversity Strategic Planning

In the fall of 2017, Westminster College embarked on the diversity strategic planning process. Members of the Westminster community engaged in conversations, brainstorming, ideation, and other discussions with the purpose of developing a three-year diversity strategic plan. The plan consists of:

• Institutional Plan: college-wide goals and objectives for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion across the college.
• School or Unit Plans: Goals and objectives specific to the respective academic college, school, or unit. Within these schools/colleges and units, departments may develop more departmental-specific diversity-and-inclusion goals.

Disability Resource Committee

DRC’s primary responsibility is to meet the accommodations of students registered with disability services, hear appeals from students, and communicate policies and procedures to the campus community in an effort to provide education best practices in accordance with the Americans with Disability Act. For more information about the DRC, please contact David Perry at dperry@westminstercollege.edu.

Athletics Diversity Committee

Housed in Athletics, the committee is making progress in its implementation of its NCAA diversity plan while adapting the plan as its Westminster unit diversity plan. For members, contact Dr. Susan Heath at sheath@westminstercollege.edu.

International Council

As a committee within Faculty Senate, this Council this Council works in conjunction with the staff of Global Engagement to instill a focus on internationalization and global learning into the College's planning, programs, and consciousness. For more information and members, visit the Office for Global Engagement.

Bias Reporting

Westminster is committed to creating a culture that is welcoming and inclusive. To achieve this goal, we encourage individuals to report occurrences of bias, harassment, and discrimination.

If you feel that you have experienced discrimination or harassment, you should report a Title IX incident, contacting interim Title IX Coordinator Joy Sarr at jsarr@westminstercollege.edu and the Title IX Deputy Coordinator Traci Siriprathane at tsiriprathane@westminstercollege.edu, or contacting executive director of Human Resources Julie Freestone at jfreestone@westminstercollege.edu.

Diversity Quick Facts

Consistent with our Commitment to an Inclusive Westminster, we strive to diversify our campus through proactive and intentional policies and strategies aimed at the recruitment and retention of students, faculty, and staff from diverse backgrounds. See a snapshot of our campus diversity.