Beloit College
PA-4: Diversity and Equity Coordination

The Office for Inclusive Living and Learning recognizes the human diversity represented at Beloit College and in its surrounding communities as the College’s greatest educational resource. Our bodies, histories, social identities, worldviews and inspirations - our whole lives - make this campus a setting unparalleled for a true Liberal Arts in Practice education. Who we are today and who we will become, both individually and collectively, provide the field in which we live, learn and strive to achieve Beloit College’s mission. We engage not only students but also college faculty and staff, along with members of the wider Beloit community, through: Intentional identity based programming focused on the differences represented on our campus and in the community, acknowledging not only those identities that have been privileged and empowered but especially those that have been underrepresented and/or marginalized. Challenging and exploring understandings of race, class, gender, power and privilege, by creating opportunities for dialogue between faculty, staff and students. Collaborative ongoing initiatives with campus partners, including but not limited to the Office of International Education (OIE), the Office of Academic Diversity and Inclusiveness (OADI), Learning Enrichment and Disability Services (LEADS), Residential Life, and the departments of Critical Identity Studies and Religious Studies. Developing training and high impact practices aimed at creating a campus learning environment that is safe, understanding and interculturally competent Setting benchmarks and tracking progress through intentional research and assessment of our work around inclusive living and learning. The Office for Inclusive Living and Learning is part of the Division for Student Life and also includes two additional programs focused on identity, relationship building, dialogue and student leadership: The Spiritual Life Program fosters interactions and promotes relationships in which students, faculty and staff can explore their spiritual journeys and express their religious identities as they evolve in this age of rapid change and conflict. The values, skills and learning that come from our Sustained Dialogue program are utilized by all college stakeholders, administration, faculty, staff and students to set the norms for how we communicate, build relationships and resolve conflicts.

One ongoing program focused on cultural competence is Beloit's Sustained Dialogue program, facilitated by 1 FTE employee. Sustained Dialogue seeks to create connections between students who do not normally interact by promoting respectful conversation around issues of race, gender, and power. Students, faculty, and staff are all encouraged to sign up, and all three types of Beloiters can go through training to become Sustained Dialogue Facilitators. Sustained Dialogue groups are varied depending on preference: all student groups, mixed faculty, staff, and student groups, and just faculty and staff groups. Additionally the Office of Academic Diversity and Inclusiveness brings programming to campus through cultural competence training sessions as well as guest speakers.