Who We Are

The Department of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion focuses on how we live out our Hallmarks of Community, Hospitality, and Love within our Benedictine community. We aspire to create a learning environment in which we prioritize critical thinking, respectful dialogue, and meaningful educational interactions. We advocate for access, equity, and inclusion for historically marginalized and systematically under-served populations. Our focus also includes initiatives that address gender-based violence through a lens of social change; cultivating healthy relationships; celebrating our diversity; and striving for an inclusive and equitable environment where we can all learn and grow together.

The Department provides training, educational programming, and outreach; advises on policies and procedures to remedy discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct, and any related retaliation. We work to create a community that is safer, more inclusive and equitable; ensuring that all individuals are treated with dignity, compassion, and respect.

As we close out Black History Month 2021, we take time to show profiles of Black members of the Benedictine University community. These profiles show the black excellence in the Benedictine University community.

Benedictine University celebrates Black History Month!

The celebration of Black History Month began as “Negro History Week,” which was created in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson, a noted African American historian, scholar, educator, and publisher. It became a month-long celebration in 1976. The month of February was chosen to coincide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. We dedicate this time to honoring the triumphs and struggles of Black Americans throughout U.S. history, including the civil rights movement and their artistic, cultural, and political achievements.

This year, we got to witness the swearing-in of Kamala Harris the first woman Vice President who is Black and South Asian. We also witness the swearing-in of Rev. Raphael Warnock the first Black senator from Georgia.  As we celebrate the contributions of Black Americans to America, we also recognize that we have to some much work to do to eradicate systemic racism in the United States.