Office of Equity and Inclusion

A Message from the Associate Provost for Campus Equity & Inclusion

Dear Drake Community,

Welcome to the Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI). This office is the focal point for efforts to grow a campus climate characterized by diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ). My role as Associate Provost is to help Drake students, staff and faculty alike to live out and live up to the commitments our campus community has made, and reiterated, time and again.

How we understand DEIJ matters. We are a community that values diversity as an institutional strength that encompasses a broad range of human differences. We acknowledge the role Drake University can play in redressing historic injustices that result in continued marginalization of members of specific groups and seek to understand and respond to contemporary calls for inclusivity as necessitated by social justice.

There are a number of different initiatives underway in the Office of Equity and Inclusion to continue to ensure these commitments are meaningful and measurable. Growing, sustaining and deepening an inclusive learning environment in every aspect of campus life requires us to remain active, realizing the work must be ongoing.

I encourage you to explore the OEI’s website to get a sense of Drake’s history, some of the progress we’ve made, the current initiatives we are working on, and programs we are growing. Most importantly, I encourage you to explore this website to see ways you can get involved.

The reality is DEIJ isn’t really the responsibility of one person or office. We really are all in this together and it takes all of us. But here’s what’s most amazing to me: the more we do go all in, the more we realize that participation in growing an inclusive campus climate, where every member of the Drake community experiences a sense of true belonging, isn’t only a responsibility. It’s a wonderful opportunity to experience some of the best learning and growth a truly diverse, equitable, inclusive and just environment offers us all.

I love this work, even when it’s challenging. I hope you will plug in.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Harvey, PhD
Associate Provost for Campus Equity and Inclusion