Diversity Profile

Diversity is part of the institutional life of the NDNU community. Over the years it has been given voice in numerous official NDNU documents and policies such as the following:

NDNU Core Values

Core Value 3: Diversity

• Commitments to celebrate, embrace, value, and learn from the voices, perspectives and experiences of all our community members
• A commitment to ensure that the University offers its students, faculty and staff of diverse backgrounds opportunities that are accessible and fair to all constituents
• A commitment to seek and respect diverse points of view in the academic arena

The Hallmarks of a Notre Dame de Namur Learning Community

Hallmark Five: We Embrace The Gift Of Diversity

• We welcome to our community people of diverse cultures, ethnicity, race, socio-economic circumstances, gender, age, sexual orientation and faith traditions.
• We develop educational programs which expand our knowledge and understanding of the diversity in our world community and which celebrate the richness of that heritage.
• We initiate strategies and support services which respect individual learning styles and which build the self-esteem of each student.

Diversity Statement adopted December 1993

Founded upon the values of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, Notre Dame de Namur University is committed to addressing the constantly changing educational needs of our diverse society. In our commitment to diversity, we seek to create a sense of belonging, involvement and sharing and to understand and accept differences. The NDNU community welcomes, celebrates, promotes and respects the entire variety of human experience. Dimensions of diversity include, but are not limited to, race, ethnicity, religious belief, sexual orientation, sex/gender, disability, socioeconomic status, cultural orientation, national origin and age. Recognition and promotion of the strength and value of diversity will be coordinated with our recruitment and admission of students, curriculum, student life, staffing, campus facilities, community services, events and training and development.

Faculty Handbook, Criteria for Promotion

Criterion 7: Inclusive Excellence

1. Central to the mission of NDNU is a commitment to diversity, whether by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, social-economic background or religious affiliation. Inclusive Excellence is a way of understanding diversity as contributing both to social justice and educational outcomes. In support of this commitment to diversity, faculty are expected to be intentional in their instruction and in their interaction with students to the principles of inclusiveness, as it is only through inclusiveness that we can be excellent as an educational institution.
2. Commitment to inclusive excellence can be demonstrated through a variety of activities. The following list includes possible examples and illustrative only:
   
   a. service on the Diversity Council
   
   b. mentoring of diverse students and/or faculty
   
   c. demonstration of inclusion of diversity-related topics in curriculum (e.g. through syllabus)
   
   d. service as an advisor to an ethnic student club
   
   e. development and/or participation in co-curricular activities around inclusive excellence
   
   f. demonstration of professional development activities around inclusive excellence
   
   g. assistance in strengthening one’s department/program for cultural competence
   
   h. research related to inclusive excellence
   
   i. offering community-based learning courses in diverse settings.

Strategic Plan 2011-2014

• Strategic Initiative I: “Foster academic success through excellent teaching, strong academic support services and personalized attention to attract and retain a diverse and inclusive student body. Enhance our status as a Hispanic-Serving Institution in order to attract and educate underserved student populations.”