Bentley University
PA-4: Diversity and Equity Coordination

Bentley has a robust Diversity Council which is comprised of staff members from throughout the campus who have explicit responsibility for diversity issues, the Diversity Council meets monthly to facilitate communication and collaboration, and develop input to senior administration. The Council serves as a resource to the community and administration to address issues that arise either on the general campus or in individual offices The Office of Diversity & Inclusion is responsible for fostering an inclusive community by leveraging interactions between offices, educating the entire community and working to increase the diversity at all levels of the University. While the office coordinates university-wide, diversity-related programs and initiatives, many other departments, centers, offices, and organizations at Bentley contribute to improving the diversity climate through varied and persistent efforts.

Diversity Training Retreats: The diversity retreat has been offered annually since in August 1993. The Diversity Task Force that was developing a strategic plan for diversity at Bentley recommended the first retreat. Following that retreat the President’s Cabinet decided that similar experiences should be made available to all members of the staff and faculty. The college has sponsored retreats every year since then in which approximately 75% of the staff and almost half of the faculty have participated. The retreat includes a two-hour session on campus, followed by 2 days (8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.) at a nearby off-campus conference facility. The retreat focuses specifically on the issues of nationality, race, gender and sexual orientation by way of discussion and introductions to ongoing support networks. The opportunities for students include Freshman Year Seminar (FYS) and other classes and diversity and inclusion training for all Residential Assistants. FYS, a required course for Freshmen, includes learning objectives which focus on multicultural aspects. When students partake in Service Learning, they are given diversity and equality training as well. In the Fall of 2016 the Office of Diversity and Inclusion has launched a Bentley Brave initiative to continue the work that our campus community has done to examine difference among people. Bentley Brave, is a series of events and programs offered to provide meaningful opportunities in our community for education, conversation and reflection on topics like race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, ability, and socio-economic status. Minors at Bentley include Diversity and (In)Equality

Bentley Brave website: http://www.bentley.edu/offices/diversity-inclusion/bentley-brave