Creating and Sustaining a Culture of
Inclusion in the Classroom, Department
and University
9th Annual Niagara University International
Conference on Teaching and Learning
Plenary Session II
Dr. Mathew L. Ouellett
January 13, 2010
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Defining our terms …
– Everyone Included in Diversity Discussion
• Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Religion, Sexual Orientation,
Age, Disability Status, Others – but remain attentive to
historic issues of access and equity
• Students, Faculty, Staff, Administrators
– Connect Diversity to Core Mission of the Institution
• Across Teaching, Learning, Research, Strategy,
Performance, Assessment, etc.
– Cultural Competency as a Leadership Skill in 21st Century
– Diversity change efforts need to utilize a comprehensive,
systemic change process.
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Integrating it all…
• Identify one new diversity-related thing you
learned at this conference
• Identify one new diversity-related thing you
are willing to implement.
• What support do you need to do this (from
colleagues, students, institutionally, etc)
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One example…
My operative definition of Diversity is multi-tiered in that I
understand it to have individual as well as social group
parameters. Diversity: the focus and concern for the full
inclusion of the members of all social identity groups (e.g.,
race/ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, country of
origin, and ability, as well as cultural, political, religious, or
other affiliations) and the respect of individual differences
(e.g., personality, learning styles, and life experiences)
In organizations, I’d go on to address the mission, values,
policies, operational practices, behaviors and culture of the
campus and the community it resides in.
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Systemic Perspective on Change
Multicultural Organizational Development: a
systems change process for enhancing social
justice and social diversity in higher education,
as well as organizations generally.
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Environmental Dynamics
Influencing Diversity on Campus
• Shifting Demographics
– Increasing diversity of student body nationwide
• Persistent Societal Inequities
– Achievement gap; access issues; affordability
• Political & Legal Dynamics
– Recent rulings on affirmative action
• Workforce Needs
– Knowledge Economy
– Interconnected Global Economy
• Other influences?
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Challenges with Effecting Change
around Diversity in H. E.
• Campus Change Agenda Crisis Driven
• Change efforts not inclusive; only involve
certain segments of institution
• Focus on Individual behavior change- not
systems change
• Lack of a Vision of Change and/or unable to
translate the vision into tangible outcomes
throughout the organization
• Low levels of institutional support from Senior
Leadership
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Continued…
• Resistance to Allocating Sufficient Financial,
Human, Technical and Symbolic Resources
• Lack of Systems Orientation and systems
change strategy
• Lack of Comprehensive Framework to
Measure Outcomes of Change Efforts
• Failure to Establish Accountability
• Focus more on planning than sustained
implementation
• Other dynamics?
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Brief Write
• What differences have you noticed in your
students’ cultural and individual learning
styles, communication and interaction styles?
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Getting the big picture…
• Stand back from the immediate experience of
the course and, briefly, describe two things:
• where may students “be coming from” as they
enter this course? And,
• how they might the ideas, knowledge, skills
and values from the course be used in their
personal, professional, social, and civic lives
after graduation?
Adapted from Fink, L. D., & Fink, A. K. (2009). Designing Courses for Significant Learning: Voices of experience. New
directions for teaching and learning, No. 119. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
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Department / Institutional Goals
For example, to graduate women and men who:
• Think and act globally
• Approach problems with a multi-disciplinary point
of view
• Have a desire to make the world (and not just
themselves) better off
• Create new knowledge from the information
presented to them
Inclusion
The active, intentional, and ongoing engagement with
diversity—in people, in the curriculum, in the cocurriculum, and in communities (intellectual, social,
cultural, geographical) with which individuals might
connect—in ways that increase one’s awareness,
content knowledge, cognitive sophistication, and
empathic understanding of the complex ways
individuals interact within systems and institutions.
(AAC&U – Inclusive Excellence)
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MCOD Systems Change Process
1. Identifying &
Developing
Change Agent Team
4. Change Planning
& Implementation
Evaluate,
Renew, &
Redo
2. Determining
System
Readiness
3. Assessment &
Benchmarking
Jackson, B. (2005 ). The Theory and Practice of Multicultural Organization Development in
Education. In M. Ouellett (Ed.) Teaching Inclusively: Resources for Course, Department and
Institutional Change in Higher Education. Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press. (p. 12)
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Inclusive Assessment
Assessment – the process of gathering
information form multiple sources
and indicators to make judgments
about student learning,
achievement, progress and
performance.
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Inclusive Planning Strategies
• Consider if all students are likely to have a
background in the material
• Account for different approaches to learning
• Anticipate sensitive areas and prepare
yourself and students
• Plan for accommodations for students with
disabilities (be familiar with campus services
and practices)
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Further Resources
Adams, M., Bell, L., Griffin, P. (2007). Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice.
New York: Routledge. (second edition)
Burgstahler, S., & Cory, R. (2008). Universal Design in Higher Education: From
Principles to Practice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education.
Fink, L. D., & Fink, A. K. (2009). Designing Courses for Significant Learning:
Voices of experience. New directions for teaching and learning, No. 119.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Morey, A. & Kitano, M. K. (1997). Multicultural Course Transformation in
Higher Education: A Broader Truth. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Ouellett, M. L. (Ed.) (2005). Teaching Inclusively: Resources for Course,
Department & Institutional Change in Higher Education. Stillwater, OK:
New Forums Press.
Suskie, L. (2004). Assessing Student Learning: A Common Sense guide. Bolton,
MA: Anker.
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The academy is not paradise. But learning is a place
where paradise can be created. The classroom,
with all its limitations, remains a location of
possibility. In that field of possibility we have the
opportunity to labor for freedom, to demand of
ourselves and our comrades, an openness of mind
and heart that allows us to face reality even as we
collectively imagine ways to move beyond
boundaries, to transgress. This is education as the
practice of freedom.
Bell hooks, 1994
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