Fall is upon us, and like so many years past, we greet this season with expectations for a challenging and rewarding semester, and hope for new beginnings that enrich our minds and fuel our collective drive to be ever better. We honor and celebrate Latinx and Hispanic Heritage American Month. Even though the month of acknowledgement ends October 15; we take pride in honoring our past, recognizing our present, and embracing the future throughout the year. September 15 marks the independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; and Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days later in September. We celebrate the beauty of our diversity.
In the spirit of celebrations and achievements, our efforts have been acknowledged for the second year in a row, the University of Rochester has been awarded the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award. In part, the award recognizes our efforts to create and implement the University’s EDI Action Plans and to engage the wider Rochester community in initiatives such as childcare and education that affect so many of our students and employees.
But we accept this incredible honor and welcome our deputy chief diversity officer to the University with the acknowledgement and understanding that there is still much more work to do. From faculty, student, and staff recruitment to revised policies and procedures and meaningful engagement with our community, our efforts must continue. We hope that you join us in this work, and you are encouraged to learn more about the Office of Equity and Inclusion and the many ways we are helping the University live its Meliora mission.
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Engagement with the Community
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 Prof. Kara Finnigan recently joined a coalition of researchers, civil rights lawyers, and policy advocates in submitting a letter to the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Education urging for closer collaboration between housing agencies and school districts in the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) planning process. The letter also cites Finnigan's research on using fair housing planning as a tool to address schooling inequities. Read their letter. In August, Finnigan was named the editor-in-chief of AERA Open for 2022-24 by the American Educational Research Association.
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New Beginnings for the Office of Equity and Inclusion
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Of the five EDI institutional priorities, our infrastructure priority focuses on how we collectively develop and sustain an environment that supports equity, diversity, and inclusion for leadership, strategic committee work, signature programming with measurable outcomes, and accountability and adherence to an EDI vision. We are grateful to expand our team and present reimagined programmatic efforts.
The University has a history of celebrating the diversity of our staff and faculty university wide. As we embark on the journey ahead, the Office of Equity and Inclusion has redesigned the Presidential Diversity Awards to the Presidential Stronger as One Diversity Awards. The reimagined awards incorporate President Mangelsdorf’s messaging to the UR community about embracing a One University concept and how we are “stronger as one.” Honoring faculty, staff, students, and members of the Rochester community and Board of Trustees is a welcomed addition to embracing President Mangelsdorf’s vision and embracing the excellence of our community. The awards will recognize those who have supported the five institutional equity, diversity, and inclusion priorities and helped ensure a welcoming and inclusive environment at the University. Submit a nomination today. The deadline for nominations is October 31.
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Virtual Book Club to Discuss The Agitators
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 Enjoy the next selection from the University of Rochester’s virtual book club, The Agitators, by Dorothy Wickenden. Launched earlier this year, this exciting initiative encourages our University of Rochester community around the world to connect, share recommendations, and virtually discuss thought-provoking titles on a variety of topics. On October 19, the Neilly Author Series will host The Agitators author, Dorothy Wickenden to discuss her book, which tells the story of America before, during, and after the Civil War, through the intimate perspective of three friends and neighbors in Auburn, New York—Harriet Tubman, Frances Seward, and Martha Coffin Wright. The event is sponsored by River Campus Libraries, the University of Rochester Virtual Book Club, and the Women’s Network. Register for the Neilly Author Series event here.
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Upcoming Events and Programming
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Bookmark the University’s Diversity calendar to stay abreast of our celebrations. Let us embrace the breath of diversity and excellence we share throughout the Rochester community.
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I grew up listening to the stories of our people. These narratives were told by my tías, tíos (aunts, uncles), parents and especially my Mamá, my grandmother, Francisca. These stories were grounded in our creencias (our beliefs), our generational wisdom mostly founded in diverse spiritual beliefs.
