Moving Toward Institutional Inclusive Excellence

Dear Tufts Community Members,

Last Thursday, more than 300 of you joined the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice and Access (DEIJA) Fall Welcome Reception on our Medford/Somerville campus in person and virtually. Thank you to everyone who came together in a joyful community.

It was a pleasure to meet and hear from many of you. During the reception, attendees previewed our DEIJA strategy, vision, and key priorities for the year ahead.

For those who couldn’t attend the reception, the presentation can be accessed at any time and a recording will be posted online next week.

Some key takeaways from the event include:

• Community Engagement: Since December, Monroe has met with more than 350 faculty, staff, students, and alumni, and more than 50 university groups to build relationships, learn about DEIJA work underway, and identify our community’s needs. Your input has informed our vision and goals and will continue to shape next steps.
• Building on a Foundation: Many of you have already been leading Tufts’ DEIJA work, which has not gone unnoticed. None of our work ahead is possible without this strong foundation.
• Advancing Institutional Inclusive Excellence will require developing people and leaders, informing and advancing policies, expanding resources and research, designing educational and mentorship programs, and fostering community.
• You can expect to learn more about our ongoing initiatives, including further work on our campus climate survey, faculty cluster hiring, inclusive leadership development and opportunities, racial equity funding updates, and how Tufts is responding to the SCOTUS decision on affirmative action and inclusive access. Sign up for our mailing list for updates on our work.
• Our work must and will center intersectionality, access, equity, and accountability at all levels.
• Joy, Liberation, and Transparency are foundational in this work. This means we will offer more opportunities to come together as a community and communicate more often about our ongoing work.

Introducing the Office of the Vice Provost for Institutional Inclusive Excellence

To support, and align with, the work ahead of us, the Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice will be renamed the “Office of the Vice Provost for Institutional Inclusive Excellence.”

This is more than a name change; it reflects a new direction for Tufts and the integration and prioritization of diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and access in every aspect of university life. Inclusive excellence is inseparable from academic and institutional excellence; it must be embedded and prioritized across the institution and requires sustained action. “Institutional Inclusive Excellence” advances strategic alignment of DEIJA efforts on both a local and institutional level.

True institutional progress and inclusive excellence will take time and effort and are only possible through our collective action. We look forward to your thoughts and feedback and engaging all community members in our work ahead.

Best regards, 
Caroline and Monroe

Caroline Attardo Genco 
Provost and Senior Vice President

Monroe France 
Vice Provost for Institutional Inclusive Excellence 
(formerly Vice Provost for DEIJ) 
Professor of the Practice, Tisch College