Diversity and Inclusion
Our commitment to creating an inclusive community
The University of Rochester envisions itself as a community that welcomes, encourages, and supports individuals who desire to contribute to and benefit from the institution’s missions of teaching, research, patient care, performance, and community service. In a pluralistic culture, that community includes faculty, students, and staff who represent important differences.
Read more:
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The University’s statement on diversity and inclusion
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The University’s statement of educational philosophy
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The University’s Vision and Values
Diversity and Inclusion: Schools and Centers
Each of the University’s schools and colleges have offices devoted to diversity initiatives at the school level.
- Arts, Sciences & Engineering
- Eastman School of Music
- School of Medicine and Dentistry
- School of Nursing
- Simon Business School
- Warner School of Education
- University of Rochester Medical Center
News and announcements
The University has released its 2018 reports on Diversity and Inclusion, Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response, and College Bias-Related Incidents to provide more transparency about issues of diversity, discrimination, and sexual misconduct. It’s the first time the reports have been released together, online, and in an easy-to-navigate digital format. Print-ready PDFs are available for download
Symone Sanders, a political commentator for CNN and the national press secretary for Senator Bernie Sanders during his 2016 presidential run, will deliver the University’s 2019 Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Address.
Sanders will speak at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, January 23, in Feldman Ballroom, Douglass Commons. The annual event is free and open to the public.
On December 3, 1847, the first issue of the North Star newspaper was published in the city of Rochester. One hundred and seventy one years later, the city again celebrated abolitionist, activist, author, and orator Frederick Douglass in an evening of words and song at Rochester’s Hochstein Hall. The Prophet of Freedom event, co-sponsored by the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology, featured musical performances, speeches from local leaders and members of Douglass’s family, and a keynote address from noted Douglass biographer David Blight.
Three Rochester faculty members talk about how we understand hate and intolerance.
University Communications recently sat down with Nora Ruble, the Jane and Allen Batkin Professor of Jewish Studies and chair of the Department of Religion and Classics, Thomas Fleischman, assistant professor of history, and Laura Elenbaas, assistant professor of psychology, for an academic conversation about hate and intolerance. Together, they discuss reactions to recent incidents of hate, important lessons from history, and the psychology of stereotypes and intolerance.
Programs and Initiatives
Racism and Hate Speech: ‘We’re better than THAT’
The “We’re better than THAT” campaign educates students, faculty and staff on ways to approach difficult conversations on divisive topics and to stop hate speech and racism in our community.
Safe Space Training
The Safe Space program addresses ways to reduce homophobia and heterosexism to make our institution a safer and freer environment for all members of our community regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.
BUILD Xavier
BUILD Xavier (Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity) is a part of a larger initiative by the National Institutes of Health: Enhancing the Diversity of the NIH-funded workforce. Xavier University of Louisiana has developed a program called Project PATHWAYS, which includes several components targeting students, faculty, and several non-academic centers on Xavier’s campus. The University of Rochester is one of the partnering institutions with Xavier University. This program encourages diversity in the scientific research workforce.
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