A. Anticipating and being responsive to all types of individualized needs and, importantly, those needs that are related to identities is a core value of the GDI site. While we could not conduct the work necessary to assess academic work environment needs from the standpoint of individual identities, we focused on asking questions that reveal the problematic outcomes for any failure of inclusiveness. A thorough inclusiveness assessment, as recommended, can reveal any problems with inclusiveness, identify those that specific groups experience, and implement strategies that are informed by those identities.
Q. Can this be applied to any university department?
A. Yes, but remember that the survey was developed with the sixteen institutions that comprise the Associated Colleges of the South. All of these institutions are private, residential, liberal arts colleges. Other types of institutions may need to scale up or down.
Q. Are there other resources available for improving inclusiveness in a department?
A. Yes, we link to resources in every toolkit area. Start at the main toolkit page here [link], and choose the area of interest. At the end of each area page, you will find resources addressing that inclusiveness area.
Q. What if I have a question or suggestion about the content of the GDI website?
A. Please contact Al Bardi at cabardi@sewanee.edu. To do inclusiveness work well at any level or stage, solicitation of and openness to input are vital. We anticipate changes will need to be made to the site to maximize the effectiveness of inclusiveness assessment and improvement planning.