Diversity & Inclusion at the Swearer Center
The Swearer Center is committed to actively and intentionally contributing to, learning from and leading national dialogues about the particular challenges of equity, positionality and diversity in the field of higher education. We believe it is essential — and a moral imperative for the University — that community engagement, engaged scholarship and social innovation opportunities be made possible for all interested Brown students.
We are committed to active and equitable inclusion of diverse stakeholders, perspectives, identities, histories and ways of knowing. We will continue to critically examine the roles that power and privilege continue to play in community engagement relationships and particularly in the relationship between the University and the greater Providence community.
In 2016, Brown initiated a planning process that yielded a Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) for the University; this plan established a blueprint for how to make our campus a truly diverse and inclusive community. As part of this process, the Swearer Center hosted community listening and feedback events to engage the local Providence community in these important conversations. Our DIAP calls for action along five goals: staff hiring, staff development, co-curriculum development, student development and community engagement. For each of these objectives, we have articulated an action plan, responsible parties, a timeline, collaborators, assessment and a plan for reporting our progress.
