ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë

We are pleased to share with you ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë’s first comprehensive Inclusive Excellence Action Plan. Aligned with our Amplifying Our Impact strategic vision and Academic Success Goals, the plan is a comprehensive strategy to advance Inclusive Excellence at ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë. This plan is the result of a broad, participatory process in which every unit of the university developed a data-driven Inclusive Excellence Action Plan with unique features and shared goals. The university’s Our Common Ground values underpin every element of this work.

We are grateful to the many members of our community who made this plan possible through their energy, commitment, and collaboration. We now ask everyone at ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë to embrace and model Our Common Ground values of justice, openness, respect, integrity, responsibility, and innovation and to build and sustain a culture of belonging, equity, and inclusion for students, faculty, and staff. We are asking our community to move their action plans forward with acknowledgement and understanding of local and global demographic realities.

The university pursues inclusive excellence because doing so will empower us to fulfil our mission as the state’s public flagship land-grant university. We are committed to attracting and retaining world-class, diverse talent to our region to drive innovation and economic impact. Only by fully realizing inclusive excellence will ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë and our region to thrive. Inclusive excellence is, indeed, an investment in Vermont’s future.

The ongoing success of the university calls for our deliberate and unwavering focus on equity and inclusion. ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë is a thriving university because of the rich diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, and ideas our community comprises. This plan charts our course for an even more equitable and inclusive institution right now and far into the future.

Suresh V. Garimella
President, University of Vermont

Patricia A. Prelock
Provost and Senior Vice President, University of Vermont

ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë’s Comprehensive Inclusive Excellence Action Plan is the result of an unprecedented all-inclusive process involving a broad set of stakeholders across our community including our University Diversity Council (UDC) and all senior leaders. With membership from every division and College, the UDC worked with the Office of the Vice Provost for Inclusive Excellence to support ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë’s first-ever data-driven IE strategic planning process. Each unit developed an Inclusive Excellence Action Plan (IEAP) that utilizes metrics baselined by our 2022 Campus Climate Survey, demographics, and other data points to set their goals. These plans are public and will include tracking of progress on an annual basis during this 5-year implementation period.

I want to thank all members of the ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë community who spent countless hours to ensure that every unit set goals and made concrete commitments to advance Inclusive Excellence in their respective part of the institution. ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë’s commitment to strategic action on IE should remind all Catamounts that we are a community that boldly works to live into Our Common Ground values: Respect, Integrity, Innovation, Openness, Justice, and Responsibility.

Amer F. Ahmed
Vice Provost for Inclusive Excellence