| To: |
The Caltech Community |
From:
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Lindsey Malcom-Piqueux
Assistant VP for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Assessment
Chief Diversity Officer |
| Date: |
May 31, 2023 |
| Re: |
Caltech’s Commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility
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Last week, members of the Caltech community gathered for the Center for Inclusion and Diversity’s annual celebration of excellence, an event that highlights and recognizes individuals who exemplify leadership and excellence as they advance inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility at Caltech. The event, the individuals honored, and the many others who through their individual and collective acts foster an environment where each of us belongs, meaningfully represent the strength of our community and how we respect and express value for one another.
Caltech’s institutional mission to “expand human knowledge and benefit society through research integrated with education” is linked directly to the Institute’s commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility. Diversity, of perspective, lived experience, and background, is a critical contributor to excellence, inspiring better science and more inclusive technology. Further, an equitable, inclusive, and accessible institutional environment ensures that all individuals with the interest and talent can find belonging in, contribute to, and thrive in an engaging intellectual community.
Living these principles requires sustained and coordinated action aligned with a shared strategic vision. Such actions, some of which we highlighted at the event, may come in the form of formal programs, policies, and practices or in bottom-up collaborative efforts and advocacy by Caltech students, postdocs, staff, and faculty. Both approaches are needed to reach our institutional goals. The path forward will always evolve. Current and future inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility efforts must align with a shared understanding of the Institute’s objectives, shaped by a data-informed understanding of the barriers, and rooted in evidence-based approaches that are appropriate for Caltech’s community and context.
Inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility advance only with commitment, collaboration, and broad-based engagement across the community. Given this, I am delighted to present a statement that articulates the connection between diversity, equity, and inclusion and the Institute’s mission and future. This unequivocal statement of Caltech’s commitment to these mission-based values is a clear signal that the Institute will continue to prioritize inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility. |
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