Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (ODEI)
Mission
The Mission of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is to educate, embrace, and enhance the campus of Texas Southern University and to encourage students, faculty, and staff to build a more inclusive, equitable, and welcoming campus environment for all members of the University community. The office develops programming and trainings, facilitates mentoring opportunities, and engages in outreach and advocacy efforts to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice.
Vision
The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will lead the university in realizing its potential to become an ever-more inclusive, equitable, and welcoming campus by empowering the campus community with a shared vision, understanding, and acceptance of responsibility for diversity, equity, and inclusion. The office will lead efforts to leverage the diversity of the University to promote cultural competence as a fundamental skill of Texas Southern University students, faculty, staff and the institutionalization of diversity and inclusion as transformative forces that enhance academic excellence.
Principles
Educate: Educate the Texas Southern University campus by offering meaningful educational programs, lecture series, and workshops that advance diversity education and cultural competence. Increase awareness of one's own identities (internal, external, social, organizational, and cultural) and how they relate, and esteem the identities of others. The office also serves as a change agent in fostering an inclusive environment.
Embrace: Encourage the Texas Southern University community to embrace differences and use them to improve intercultural dialogues, university program partnerships, and embrace and encourage organizations and services that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Enhance: Enhance the Texas Southern University communities understanding of social inequalities and how they contribute to society individually and systemically. Enhance students ability to celebrate their cultural heritage and others by offering transformative diverse campus programming and by providing leadership experiences that maximize potential. The office is an avenue for developing students' sense of belonging.