The Office of the Provost announced the creation of a Committee for Diversity on Jan. 28 to address issues faced by students of color at Georgetown. The committee will consist of students, administrators, and staff members interested in racial and social justice.
According to University President John DeGioia’s Chief of Staff Joseph Ferrara, a group of students presented DeGioia a proposal introducing the idea at the 2014 annual Black House Dinner.
“Working with the students, we formed an ad hoc group of faculty, administrators, and of course students to begin working through these issues,” Ferrara wrote in an email to the Voice. “The students showed great leadership in advocating for greater diversity and inclusion. It became clear that this ad hoc committee should become a permanent committee.”
Although a number of groups already congregate to promote diversity and inclusivity on campus, the Committee for Diversity is the sole group dedicated to these issues that will interact directly with the Provost. It will also work with existing groups, according to Provost Robert Groves.
According to Ferrara, the Committee for Diversity has had support from several offices around campus, including the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Affirmative Action, the Division of Student Affairs, and the Center for Multicultural Equity and Access.
“Georgetown, like any institution of higher education, is a complex organization,” Ferrara wrote. “Yet, I think some progress has already been achieved—for example, this year, we have been able to put in place an institutionalized system of funding and communications support for the celebration of heritage months that did not exist before.”
In addition to the active work that committee members will be undertaking, Groves defined his expectation that the committee will teach participants relevant lessons about intergroup respect and community understanding which will better prepare them for life outside of Georgetown.
“We want to build leaders for an increasingly interconnected world, filled with different cultures, races, beliefs, and languages. We want our students to have all the skills to navigate the world. To achieve that, we need to learn how to engage effectively the differences we have in our own community,” Groves wrote in an email to the Voice.
Groves also hopes that over the course of this time, the committee will be able to have a significant impact on both its members and the Georgetown community.
“Georgetown aspires to build a culture in which all persons are valued and respected for the individual complex of talents they bring to the community,” Groves wrote. “We have hopes that this committee will be a strong force to achieve that.”
