by Taylor Bryant
University of West Georgia’s new 2014-2020 strategic plan will include ‘core values’ that every faculty staff and student will seek to incorporate into their daily work, dialogue and engagement at the university. The value of inclusiveness is one of eight values that the institutional mission and daily operation of the university will use as a guide.
“The value of inclusiveness is evident in our commitment to celebrating our diversity, our collaborative spirit and creating a welcoming campus that is emotionally, physically and psychologically safe for all,” says UWG President Dr. Kyle Marrero. “This is the defining statement that will be part of our mission, vision and values of the university.”
In addition, bold statements, goals and objectives have been embedded within the strategic imperatives. Specifically, Strategic Imperative #2, Academic Success, Goal B, Objective 3 states, “organize and institutionalize efforts to recruit a diverse faculty and assure that promotion and tenure requirements recognize the diverse interests and capabilities of faculty that advance the mission of the institution.”
“I believe the embracing of these imperatives and values focused on inclusion and diversity will make UWG the best place to work, learn and succeed,” adds Dr. Marrero. “As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, ‘the function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character, that is the goal of true education.’”
Strategic Imperative #4, Operational Success, Goal A also promotes inclusiveness, stating that the university will “create a workplace of choice distinguished by talented, engaged and diverse staff.”
In January, Dr. Marrero provided details of the strategic plan and core values in a series of town hall meetings for faculty and staff, stating “my heritage and background was so important for me to understand so that I could share that with my daughter. To travel all over the world as an artist has helped me understand the culture in which we live. We need to provide an environment of inclusiveness for our students and seek to continually diversify the make-up of our faculty and staff.”
To view a draft of the strategic plan, visit www.westga.edu/engagewest/1386.php.
