Events
The importance of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) should be understood as foundational to the life of a Catholic university that purports to recognize the importance of social justice and the fundamental dignity of all human persons. In March 2020, Interim President Scott Kline no doubt had this in mind when he launched St. Jerome’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiative. As he explained it at the time, this was to be a collaborative and consultative process, including the compilation of meaningful data as well as detailed interactions with students, faculty, staff, and external stakeholders. This final report represents the culmination of the first two phases of this work.
The central recommendation in this report is for the third Phase of SJU’s EDI Initiative to begin in the Fall of 2023 with the establishment of a permanent institutional committee. This committee will address the various recommendations in the report as well as the ongoing work of anti-racism, equity, inclusion, decolonization, and indigenization as it relates to the mission and life of St. Jerome’s University. That EDI continues to be central to the life of our community is now also reflected in St. Jerome’s new Strategic Plan, approved in April 2022, which highlights the building of an “equitable, diverse, inclusive and just community” as a key priority for our University.
This work will also seek to establish a system of accountability and reporting in line with the proper governance practices of St. Jerome’s as a Catholic university and as a federated university partner of the University of Waterloo. This will include addressing any structural barriers to full and equitable inclusion; engendering a culture that values the importance of encounter, dialogue, accompaniment, and hospitality; and supporting and promoting the wellness of students, staff, faculty, and contract academic staff at the University.
My deepest thanks go out to everyone who participated in the compilation of this final report, in particular co-chairs of the Working Group Phase, Cristina Vanin and Mike Gourlay, and the chair of the Advisory Committee, Carol Ann MacGregor. For institutions as much as for individuals, change can be difficult, even unsettling. But, as part of the need to discern what Pope St. John XXIII observed at the outset of the Second Vatican Council as “the signs of the times”, this report represents an important starting point for the work of dismantling, disrupting, and challenging our current practices. And in the light of the Gospel imperatives of openness, justice, and hospitality, I am confident that this work will enrich and animate our university as we strive to serve the needs of the world in the years to come.
Peter Meehan
President and Vice Chancellor