Statement from CANR on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
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EmailDiversity, Equity and Inclusion are important, interdependent components of everyday life in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) and are critical to our pursuit of academic excellence. Our aim is to foster a culture where every member of CANR feels valued, supported and inspired to achieve individual and common goals with an uncommon will. This includes providing opportunity and access for all people across differences of race, age, color, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, religion, national origin, migratory status, disability / abilities, political affiliation, veteran status and socioeconomic background.
Video Transcript
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are important, interdependent components of everyday life
in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) and are critical to our pursuit
of academic excellence. For the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Diversity
includes characteristics of race, age, color, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender
identity, gender expression, religion, national origin, migratory status, disability / abilities,
political affiliation, veteran status and socioeconomic background. It also includes
differences in backgrounds, ideas, thought, values and beliefs. Embracing differences
make us better learners, teachers, leaders, scholars, researchers, extension educators,
employees, and students. This is operationalized by embedding equity in all of our structures
and practices. Equity requires providing justice, fairness, and access to opportunities and
resources for all members of the campus community. In creating and sustaining a climate where
equity and mutual respect are intrinsic, we are nurturing a success-oriented, cooperative
and caring college where we attract and retain people and partners who feel comfortable contributing
their unique wisdom, perspectives and experiences. To be an inclusive college is to respect everyone,
value differences, acknowledge the impact of differences and to capitalize on those
differences by drawing on the intellectual strength that produces innovative solutions
from the synergy of our people. Our aim is to foster a culture where every member of
CANR feels valued, supported and inspired to achieve individual and common goals with
an uncommon will.
• In keeping with the responsible pursuit of our land grant mission, we acknowledge
that the work of CANR takes place on Indigenous lands, and in Indigenous spaces. Within the
Great Lakes region, CANR resides on the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary Lands of the
Anishinaabeg—Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi people.
• Our disciplines have not been historically and are not currently representative of the
diversity of perspectives and backgrounds that make up Michigan, our nation and our world.
• The future of our agriculture and natural resources disciplines depends on our ability
to incorporate emerging, as well as historically marginalized people and perspectives into
our science, our teaching, and all of our work to meet current and future challenges.
• As individuals, we all carry our identities into our personal and professional interactions.
We encourage our community members to seek out opportunities to learn from those with
perspectives different from their own.
• All of our work relies on our individual and institutional ability to build authentic
and trusting relationships and partnerships across all aspects of human differences.
• The capacity to create inclusive environments is a professional leadership skill and we
strive to provide opportunities for our professionals to develop those skills.
• The processes CANR utilizes to admit, grade, recruit, hire, retain, evaluate and
grant continuing status and/or tenure to our faculty staff and students are opportunities
to embed principles of equity in our structures.
• The skills required to create and sustain inclusive environments and to work in diverse
environments are vital to the success of our graduates in the future of ANR disciplines and professions.
