Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 59.76
Liaison Lindsey MacDonald
Submission Date June 6, 2023

STARS v2.2

Western Washington University
PA-5: Diversity and Equity Coordination

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.33 / 2.00 Ashley Olson
Data Ambassador
Sustainability Engagement Institute
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1 

Does the institution have a diversity and equity committee, office, and/or officer tasked by the administration or governing body to advise on and implement policies, programs, and trainings related to diversity, equity, inclusion and human rights?:
Yes

Does the committee, office and/or officer focus on students, employees, or both?:
Both students and employees

None
A brief description of the diversity and equity committee, office and/or officer, including purview and activities:
In support of its institutional commitment to advance inclusive success and pursue justice and equity in programming, policies, and practices, Western created a two-fold structure in the fall of 2020, building on the Recommendation to Create a Structural Equity and Bias Response Team (SEBRT) advanced by the President’s Council on Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice in 2019 – 2020. In SEBRT, the Structural Equity Team (SET) creates an annual public report as a result of independent work undertaken by the SET, which informs the future work of the SEBRT and Western as a whole.

In 2021, Western created the Office of Equity, which brings together a compliance function and a much broader and more robust education and community development function leading to proactive equity and diversity work. Since 2022, this new office has been led by the newly created Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) and Executive Director of the Office of Equity, a cabinet-level position designed to serve at the helm of the Office of Equity and to influence and inform the Accessibility, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ADEI) initiatives of the institution.

In supporting the CDO in the development of the ADEI education and community development function of the Office, the Structural Equity Team (SET) was charged during the 2021-2022 academic year to gather information and create an inventory of current educational and development efforts at Western with respect to ADEI (See Appendix for the Structural Equity Team Composition). This would include the scope, goals, and impact of departments, committees, and educational programs.

Part 2 

Estimated proportion of students that has participated in cultural competence, anti-oppression, anti-racism, and/or social inclusion trainings and activities:
Some

Estimated proportion of academic staff that has participated in cultural competence, anti-oppression, anti-racism, and/or social inclusion trainings and activities:
Some

Estimated proportion of non-academic staff that has participated in cultural competence, anti-oppression, anti-racism, and/or social inclusion trainings and activities:
Some

If trainings are made available, provide:

A brief description of the institution’s cultural competence, anti-oppression, anti-racism, and/or social inclusion trainings and activities:
We do not have data, immediately available, on the proportion of students, faculty, and staff who have participated in cultural competence, anti-oppression, anti-racism, and/or social inclusion trainings and activities. Curriculum is currently being developed by WWU experts in each of the aforementioned areas. Preliminary work is also currently in process for in-person, on-line, and hybrid trainings.

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s diversity and equity office or trainings is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.