Here you’ll find key documents that outline what the WU Equity and Inclusion Council (WUEIC) does. Just as importantly, they detail how we do it.
Meeting materials and articles about WUEIC may be found on separate pages.
2021-26 Charter & Organizing Principles
An essential piece of the WU Equity & Inclusion Council’s work is developing processes and structures that can support the execution and evaluation of the work — both for itself, and for current and future entities tackling related challenges across the institution.
Further, the Council centers its efforts on supporting actions towards a culture and climate where people are celebrated for the whole of who they are and what they bring to the university community.
This founding document describes these processes, structures, and the organizing principles for such actions.
Key Council Reports
2022-23 Community Update Report
Read a recap of the Council’s work in the academic year 2022-23, including four member profiles describing their experience serving on WUEIC.
2021 Community Update Report
Part of the Council’s charge from Chancellor Martin when he announced its inception – in June 2020 – was to deliver a report to the Board of Trustees in December 2020.
A year later, the Council offered a year-end 2021 Community Update – it describes, again, work in progress. It is meant to be another offering in an ongoing conversation about how to advance equity and inclusion at WUSTL; after all, lasting change takes time to build.
2021’s Update includes profiles of four members; they share their stories about why they are energized to continue this work — a volunteer endeavor.
Recommendations to the Strategic Planning Process
When the Equity & Inclusion Council launched in 2020, its work was grounded in two sets of documents: the 19 reports presented by the Commission on Diversity and Inclusion in 2017, and the dozens of student demands presented to the university administration from 1968 to 2020.
These documents included more than 435 recommendations for action, addressing issues impacting students, faculty, staff, and the St. Louis community. They hold wisdom that can be helpful to shape strategic action and make sustainable improvements to the University.
The WUEIC staff themed these specific recommendations into process priority areas – while maintaining much of the original language – and shared them with the Strategic Planning working groups in August 2021. The Council asked that they deeply consider them, and go beyond this brief document to read the original source material as well.
Update to the Board of Trustees, May 2021
The WU Equity & Inclusion Council first convened in October, 2020, and set out to make progress on key areas of work in Year 1 – the 2020-2021 academic year.
This brief Update to the Board of Trustees outlines their processes, progress, and key priority areas for the Council’s work in Year 2 – the 2021-22 academic year.
Highlighted in the Update, among the Council’s founding accomplishments, is the creation of its 2021-2026 Charter & Organizing Principles.
2020 Community Update Report
Part of the Council’s charge from Chancellor Martin when he announced its inception – in June 2020 – was to deliver a report to the Board of Trustees in December 2020.
When the Council sat down to do the work, clarity of common language, problem definition, and data emerged as a necessary foundation. That work is underway and this update to the University community outlines the process, decisions made, and grapplings to date. That is the content of this 2020 Community Update.
It is the story of the months between Chancellor Martin’s announcement and now, and an update on the Council’s process so far. It describes work in progress.