Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan

Adopted October 2020

Loyola University Maryland values diversity. As a Catholic, Jesuit university, the institution is committed to creating a community that recognizes the inherent value and dignity of each person. Loyola actively promotes an awareness of and sensitivity toward differences of race, gender, ethnicity, national origin, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, and abilities among students, faculty, administrators, and staff.

The Catholic, Jesuit educational tradition seeks to celebrate differences, while at the same time highlighting fundamental human qualities that are shared across diverse cultures.  Indeed, Loyola sees diversity as an inherent source of richness and a necessary opportunity for learning, growth, and academic excellence. In this, Loyola accepts the contemporary challenge of the Catholic Church that universities must become more attentive to the cultures of the world of today, and to the various cultural traditions existing within the Church in a way that will promote a continuous and meaningful dialogue between the Gospel and society.

Loyola seeks to encourage its constituents to respect and welcome the inherent value and dignity of each person as a gifted contributor to the community as a whole. The University is committed to challenging and repudiating prejudice and bias in all its forms, and to encouraging global and international awareness, both within and outside its curricula.

These guiding principles and deep commitment undergird the University’s Office of Equity and Inclusion and the 2020-2023 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Strategic Plan outlined in this webpage.

Goal I: Education, Professional Development, and Assessment

In order to develop the education, professional development, and assessment framework that leads to systemic change and equitable, inclusive excellence across the institution, Loyola University Maryland will complete the following four initiatives by May 31, 2023:

Rationale & Impact

Over the next three years, the President’s Council, under leadership of the Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer (CEIO), will build a framework through which the University will define, take action toward, and be able to assess its goals for equitable and inclusive excellence. By pursuing the four initiatives listed above, the CEIO and President’s Council will create a framework that provides the University shared principles for matters of equity and inclusion, contributes to the capacity for colleagues to engage their daily operations with an ever-present lens of equity and inclusion, and provides the University with a plan for assessing its progress toward goals of equity and inclusion. Goal I of the Strategic Plan seeks to unite the University community as it works toward a more collaborative, data-informed future that yields increased equity and inclusion.

Measurable Outcomes

At the conclusion of three years, Loyola will have

• Begun to use shared DEI principles that promote a clear understanding of the University’s goals for equitable, inclusive excellence among all student leaders, staff leaders, faculty leaders, and administrators, as evidenced by policies, practices, and accountability across the University.
• Provided one training and professional development experience on equity and inclusion process and language implications for members of the President’s Cabinet.
• Provided one beginning, one intermediate, and one advanced professional development opportunity for staff, administrators, and faculty that explores individual identity development, gives shape to systematic change throughout the organizational structure of the University, and results in increased equity and inclusion on campus.
• Conducted targeted equity audits, through a partnership with the vice presidents, in every division and will have begun to use the findings to address patterns of inequity.
• Created a comprehensive assessment plan that defines equitable and inclusive excellence goals of the institution, identifies how those goals will be measured with available data, and identifies additional data/evidence needs for assessing the achievement of the goals.

Goal II: Inclusion and Accessibility

In order to ensure more inclusive and accessible physical, virtual, sociocultural, and developmental spaces exist to work, learn, live and thrive, Loyola University Maryland will complete the following four initiatives by May 31, 2023:

Rationale & Impact

Goal II of strategic plan centers the work of the Office of Equity and Inclusion led by the Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer, President’s Advisory Council on Equity and Inclusion, and student boards to partner with appropriate personnel and offices to ensure the development of inclusive spaces that align with the University mission and support the full participation, growth, and well-being of diverse community members. These spaces are important for the actualization of all individuals. The initiatives in this goal area support the healthy development, exploration, and affirmation of our individual and collective social and cultural identities and the fulfillment of who we are called to be as espoused by the Jesuit educational tradition. Moreover, this goal advocates for the expansion and enhanced communication among programmatic areas that have documented success serving underrepresented students and therefore may contribute more fully to their academic, social, and cultural development.

Measurable Outcomes

At the conclusion of the three-year strategic plan period, Loyola will have:

• Developed an annual process that supports communication between campus affinity group leaders and inclusive space directors, and expanded the Council to include a member with expertise in matters impacting individuals with disabilities.
• Collaborated for the development of affinity groups including white affinity groups for faculty, staff, and administrators (WAG), and students. Supported the re-invigoration of BFASA.
• Monitored and advocated for physical space for an interfaith worship, meditation, and prayer
• Advocated for additional resource support for web accessibility and DSS Services (including funding to assist student assessment), the Pride Resource Room, and ALANA Services.

Goal III: Ignatian Citizenship

In order to facilitate the development of Ignatian citizens in the community who embrace the responsibility to apply Jesuit values to make a difference in the world, including for those on the margins of society, Loyola University Maryland will complete the following five initiatives by May 31, 2023:

Rationale & Impact

Over the next three years, the President’s Advisory Council, student diversity boards, and the Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer will work with University partners to support the University’s strategic goal of Ignatian Citizenship. Specific to the intersection of Ignatian Citizenship and diversity, equity, and inclusion, the five initiatives listed above deepen our individual and collective intellectual and civic engagement with justice issues on Loyola’s campuses, our local Baltimore City community, and beyond. These initiatives are practical action steps that suggest the interconnectedness of local and global matters and allow for the real-world application of Jesuit education values to make a positive difference in the city of Baltimore and the world beyond.

Measurable Outcomes
At the conclusion of three years, Loyola will have:

• Supported implementation of student reflection presentations on study abroad and study tours as part of Academic Excellence Weekend.
• Collaborated to strengthen Baltimore partnerships, collaborations, and pipelines with Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, Western High School, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, and local non-profit organizations.
• Logged and advocated for Baltimore city business partnerships and service contracts with local businesses owned by persons of color.
• Developed and implemented a virtual International Week to become part of an annual celebration of local and global communities.
• Showcased community members’ partnerships with and service to Baltimore City and the state of Maryland that deepen Loyola’s position as an anchor institution.

Updated: June 2023

The current DEI strategic plan ends in 2023, which allows for the next plan to be informed by the University’s Strategic Planning Process, which launched in Fall 2022 and is expected to be completed by Spring 2024.