HPS Committee on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
The HPS mission is to address the most complex issues of society and better our world. Now is the time to strengthen our resolve and address the systemic and intrapersonal racism and prejudice in our communities. HPS is committed to Diversity, Inclusion, Respect, and Recognition. HPS will work in collaboration with the broader initiatives on campus.
The mission of the Committee on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion is to advance and cultivate a more diverse student body, faculty and staff while establishing a culture of inclusion to ensure fair treatment, access, advancement, and opportunity for all. Building a respectful and supportive environment for our diverse and evolving community is not an easy task and we have much to do.
The results of the UNT climate survey indicate we have many deep changes to make at UNT. The HPS Committee on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion will work on corrective, proactive and inclusive strategies to increase diversity and create a climate that best represents the values of HPS. Our hope is that HPS will learn how to provide a respectful and supportive environment that meets the needs of a diverse and evolving society. The Committee on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion will do this through specific strategies related to training, community building and advocacy.
HPS Strategic Plan: Strategic Initiative 5
Our college will cultivate a more diverse student body, faculty, and staff while establishing a culture of inclusion to ensure fair treatment, access, advancement, and opportunity for all. HPS will provide a respectful and supportive environment that meets the needs of a diverse and evolving society.
We believe as a defining feature of UNT’s past, present, and future that diversity refers to the variety of personal experiences, values, and worldviews that arise from differences of culture and circumstance. Such differences include race, ethnicity, gender identity, age, religion, language, abilities/disabilities, sexual affiliation, socioeconomic status, geographic region, and more. Inclusion is the act of creating environments in which any individual or group can feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued. An inclusive climate embraces differences and offers respect in words and actions so that all people can fully participate in HPS’s opportunities. Inclusion will be an important component to cultural responsiveness.
Equity is the guarantee of fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all students, faculty, and staff in every stage of HPS education and career development, while striving to identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented the full participation of marginalized groups.
Strategic Goal 5.1: Be a college committed to a diverse and inclusive environment by providing extensive training programs to faculty and staff that will result in greater diversity in people and ideas throughout HPS.
Strategy: HPS will cultivate a professional setting that embodies inclusivity thereby developing and implementing a culture of training in diversity and equity.
Strategic Goal 5.2: Augment inclusive initiatives to embed cultural competencies across
curricular and co-curricular experiences.
Strategy: Assess student, faculty, and staff cultural experiences in HPS as an impetus for a transformative, culturally responsive curriculum.
Committee Process
The agenda for each meeting is based on the chair’s understanding of the strategic plan progress, committee requests, current events, and ongoing climate issues. The agenda is presented at the start of the meeting and revised according to committee consensus. Each meeting has a period for reflection and open and safe discussion of issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Land, Life, and Labor Acknowledgement
This Land, Life, and Labor Acknowledgement is a formal statement that recognizes and respects Indigenous Peoples as traditional stewards of this land and the enduring relationship that exists between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional territories. To recognize the land is an expression of gratitude and appreciation to those whose territory we reside on, and a way of honoring the Indigenous people who have been living and working on the land from time immemorial. It is important to understand the long existing history that has brought us to reside on the land, and to seek to understand our place within that history.
Land acknowledgements do not exist in a past tense, or historical context: colonialism is a current ongoing process, and we need to build our mindfulness of our present participation. It is also worth noting that acknowledging the land is Indigenous protocol.
We would like to acknowledge that the land on which UNT and those of us in the Denton, TX reside is the occupied/unceded/seized territory of the Wichita, Caddo, Commanche, and Cherokee tribes. These tribes have stewarded this land throughout the generations, and we would like to pay our respects to elders, both past and present.
We also acknowledge that this country would not exist if it were not for the free, enslaved labor of Black people. We honor the legacy of the African diaspora and Black life, knowledge, and skills stolen due to violence and white supremacy. While the movement for justice and liberation is building and we are witnessing the power of the people, many are still being met with violence and even being killed. This must end now – Black Lives Matter.