This semester, the SFS Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Office advanced important initiatives at all levels, engaging faculty, staff, undergraduates and graduate students. As outlined in the five-year strategic plan, published in October 2023, three core tenets guided the office’s work: ensuring the composition of the school community is diverse, supporting a curriculum and courses that address DEI issues, and cultivating a culture that contributes to an overall sense of belonging throughout our community.
SFS DEI began the school year focusing on cultivating an inclusive culture, hosting community-based welcome mixers for undergraduate and graduate students from a variety of backgrounds, including international students; Hispanic-Latin-Caribbean; Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders and African & African Diaspora communities. To help ease the transition to Georgetown for first-generation and international students, SFS DEI ran a workshop on “Navigating GU Classroom & Academic Culture,” where students were able to reflect on the differences between Georgetown culture and their past academic experiences, formulating strategies for thriving on the Hilltop.
Throughout the fall, SFS DEI created spaces for dialogue across the Georgetown community. In October, SFS Student Ambassadors and GU-Q students met to discuss identity and its impact on their experiences at GU-Q and on the Hilltop. This unique opportunity was invaluable in advancing SFS DEI’s goal of engaging the full Georgetown community. SFS DEI also welcomed visitors from closer to the Hilltop: students from Jackson-Reed, a local high school, got an inside look on life at Georgetown through a session with Vice Dean for DEI Carla Koppell and Associate Dean Polly Robey, as well as a Q&A with current students.
To foster community contributions to DEI efforts on campus, the SFS Dean’s Advisory Council held its first meeting, bringing together representatives from the Dean’s Office, the Faculty Council, the SFS Academic Council, the Graduate Student Council and graduate program student DEI leaders, the SFS Staff Anti-Racism Group, the Faculty Global Anti-Racism Committee, and the SFS Board of Advisors to talk through the SFS DEI strategic plan and generate ideas for advancing DEI. Students, faculty, and staff also had the opportunity to offer input to Dean Joel Hellman and Vice Dean Carla Koppell at the DEI Town Hall, touching on the diversity of core curricula, inclusion for first-year students, and outreach to students with diverse backgrounds.
These events were just a fraction of SFS DEI’s efforts this year; other initiatives and events included:
- A panel discussion and IDEAA session for GSFS orientation
- The first annual report on DEI
- The second annual report on DEI
- A presentation and simulation for MSFS students on the importance of DEI in International Affairs
- A presentation to the University Leadership Council on mental health
- An event on Latinx Voices in Advocacy and Human Rights
- A Lunch and Learn for Native American Heritage Month
- Continuation of the SFS Ambassadors Program to increase outreach for prospective students
- Continuation of the partnership with the National Education Equity Lab
- Continuation of the Future Global Leaders Fellowship Program, which funded & introduced an additional 40 local DC area high school students to the world of international affairs
Going into 2024, SFS DEI hopes to target their efforts to maximize their positive impact. “Over the next year, we are looking forward to sharpening our knowledge of the most effective efforts, expanding programs that deliver results, embracing progress where we find it, and addressing gaps and needs as they arise,” Vice Dean Carla Koppell said in the annual report.
