1 MUSG Student Representative
Committee Description
The Committee on Diversity and Equity is responsible for ensuring, promoting, facilitating, and monitoring diversity and equity opportunities at Marquette University. Its business may be initiated by the UAS, the Provost, other UAS bodies, individual faculty, academic staff, or undergraduate, graduate, or professional students.
The Committee on Diversity and Equity defines the terms diversity and equity in the following manner: Diversity refers to the experience of each member of the University community; with the understanding that each individual possesses unique social identities and that some of these social identities can intersect. Our commitment to diversity also includes cultivation of a climate that respects and values individual differences. Thus, the principles of diversity and inclusion refer to characteristics of each social identity* (including the intersection of multiple identities) as well as systemic factors that lead to an inclusive community and environment.
Equity is the full embrace of equality and fairness. The term equality is defined to mean that an individual should receive fair and similar treatment within a given community. Fairness means just treatment of all persons within the University community with an acknowledgment that persons with certain social identities have historically been oppressed within society. Therefore, it is important to recognize that personal, cultural, institutional, and organizational discrimination and stigmatization along social identities creates and sustains privileges for some while creating and sustaining oppression for others. Further, the Marquette University community embraces the ethic of cura personalis, and shares a commitment to moving beyond tolerance to embracing diversity.
*Note: In keeping with Marquette University’s Catholic Jesuit mission and with respect for all individuals, social identity is meant to be inclusive. Examples include but are not limited to race, ethnicity, national origin, immigrant status, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical ability, cognitive ability, mental illness, religious beliefs, physical appearance, income or economic background, military status, geographic location, marital status, education, parental status.
