The vision of the Institute for Inclusive Excellence (IIE) is to help maintain a Pomona College where every student, faculty, and staff member feels a sense of belonging and ability to access the necessary resources within our community to flourish.
The IIE maintains a focus on the coordination of information related to diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DEI) across the campus - with an emphasis on sustained faculty and staff training - that involves both reflection and assessment.
One example of our commitment to DEI is the Individual Reflections Project. In the summer of 2021 and 2023, we invited faculty to share reflections on their inclusive teaching practices. Our assessment collected varied ways that faculty weave inclusivity into the learning environment as well as the challenges they face. Based on the narratives provided by more than 50 faculty over two years, a Pomona-specific definition of inclusive teaching emerged:
Inclusive teaching builds community, is student-centered, cares for the whole student, teaches critical content, and is accessible to all students.
The full report, prepared by Sara Hollar, Director of the Claremont Colleges Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), can be found on the Dean’s Office Sakai site. This executive summary outlines the major findings presented in the report and recommendations for our community.
Faculty, staff, and students who engage with the IIE will:
- Have clear and direct access to resources related to inclusive pedagogy and classroom equity.
- Understand why DEI is important (in general, but particularly on our campus)
- Create inclusive and equitable learning spaces across campus
- Engage in critical self-reflection
- Know how to effectively mentor advisees
- Apply inclusion and equity toward undergraduate creative activity and research
- Communicate to internal and external constituencies their commitment to DEI within classrooms, social spaces, and campus activities
- Develop a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of identity groups outside of their own
- Reflect on their own identities, and how those identities intersect in relation to others
- Have a greater sense of identity with Pomona College