The action plan is based on DEI recommendations by the Diversity Program Review Team and includes efforts GW has already implemented or is actively exploring.

September 13, 2024

The George Washington University Office of the Provost has released a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) action plansummarizing recommended actions put forth by the Diversity Program Review Team following a comprehensive review of the university's DEI efforts.

The plan includes actions that GW has already taken or is exploring implementing in the future, in the context of significant changes in the diversity landscape over the past two years, including the Supreme Court's ban of race-conscious college admissions.

"The DEI action plan reveals that GW is well on the right track to address some of the issues of concern identified by our community and the Diversity Program Review Team," Provost Christopher Alan Bracey said. "I am grateful to the team and the community for driving the work, sharing their perspectives and contributing to the enhancement of our academic community, and I look forward to continuing to implement DEI efforts outlined in the action plan."

The Diversity Program Review Team was charged by the provost to conduct the review and produce a report based on campus climate research and scholarship. The university reported the resultsof the campus climate survey in spring 2023 and engaged external consultants in fall 2023 to review the team's draft recommendations and provide feedback. The final action plan encompasses the consultants' feedback as well as recent developments in the university's DEI efforts.

The DEI action plan's recommendations and university responses are as follows:

Growth in resources to support DEI programming and staffing needs, including for the Multicultural Student Services Center, a new center for religious and spiritual life, and the Office for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement.The university has made progress in this area by adding new staff to the MSSC, launching the Center for Interfaith and Spiritual Life, allocating funding for diversity offices in nearly all schools and colleges, and seeking and adding additional communications support for ODECE.

Improvement in the physical facilities to better serve diverse community members, including providing all-person restrooms in all major university buildings, meditation and interfaith prayer rooms and reviewing university facilities for deferred maintenance, pricing and living conditions. Enhancements have been made in these areas to include a protocol requiring that all new buildings have all-person bathrooms and that existing buildings work to add these bathrooms. In addition, interfaith and quiet prayer rooms have been established in Foggy Bottom, Mount Vernon and the Virginia Science and Technology campuses. GW continues to review and prioritize deferred maintenance projects and continually assesses residence pricing. A committee has been established to address accessibility issues.

Improvement of policies and procedures to promote diversity, including improving policies and procedures around hiring and promotion, admissions, training and professional development opportunities. The university has encouraged departments to ensure faculty position descriptions draw a diverse range of applicants, and the Office of the Provost is working with the Faculty Senate Professional Ethics and Academic Freedom (PEAF) committee to develop more formalized mechanisms to address these concerns. Additionally, the Equity Instituteprovides opportunities to bring researchers together who are interested in diversity issues.

Regarding students, the university has adapted its recruitment policies in response to the recent Supreme Court decision by expanding targeted geographic areas for recruitment, continuing to work toward recruiting students who qualify for Pell grants, and providing support for underrepresented populations. In the realm of training, new faculty orientation sessions include sessions on interrupting unconscious bias and Title IX/anti-discrimination, and Human Resources Management and Development emphasizes diversity as a value and requires that anyone involved in hiring completes EEO training.