journal_vol49no2 - 9

A COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY
ACUHO-I has an obligation to raise its voice, globally and locally, against injustice and provide support
to and advocacy on behalf of all those who are subject to it. This includes amplifying the past, present,
and future narratives of marginalized communities. We also believe that individuals in the majority within
the Association need to fully invest in learning, reckoning, and active engagement in order to not only
recognize their personal power and privilege, but also to address systemic acts of injustice. Essential
to these outcomes is the ongoing pursuit of cultural humility and allyship, two critical activities for
transformative change.
ACUHO-I's commitment to advocacy and equity-centered education is demonstrated through our
adoption of the following principles of engagement for excellence. These principles guide our work on
behalf of our members, the broader profession, and, ultimately, the students we serve.
Principle One:
Promote the value of diversity, the integrity
of equity, and the benefit of inclusive
practice.
Recognize that as educators we are called
to our work, and valuing the knowledge
and perspectives that people from diverse
backgrounds and affiliations bring is necessary for
productively responding to the challenges faced
by higher education.
Principle Two:
Identify the elements of Association
members' work that can be leveraged to
address oppression and discrimination.
Focus on offering relevant guidance that
is consistent with members' roles and
responsibilities across all levels of the Association.
Share information and expertise to foster
understanding amongst all Association members.
Principle Three:
Illustrate just and inclusive models in all
Association initiatives.
Integrate and communicate the Association's
ongoing efforts of being purposeful in imagining,
testing, and demonstrating models for just and
inclusive practices across all programs, services,
policies, and principles through the engagement
of subject matter experts, the Executive Board,
volunteers, and staff.
Principle Four:
Connect cultural humility to organizational
outcomes.
Understand that cultural humility allows for
an increased capacity to address conflict and
for differences to strengthen organizational
connectivity. Emphasize personal and collective
responsibility for diversifying the composition of
the workforce, ensuring support for and retention
of a diverse student body, and embracing the role
of cultural humility in the development of antioppressive
communities.
Principle Five:
Build the Association's capacity to assist its
members by offering education, professional
development, and resources.
Provide ongoing training for members, volunteer
leaders, and Association staff on how to build
consensus around their organization's goals for
justice and equity, develop partnerships, identify
resources to do the work, develop leadership
at all levels to implement consensus goals, and
communicate the centrality of this work to the
vitality of higher education.
Principle Six:
Assess progress toward achieving goals for
justice and equity.
Foster a culture of exploration of intentional
justice and equity efforts and engagement with
difference, establish and use assessment results
for organizational learning, and develop/adopt
an iterative assessment process and metrics for the
Association to monitor progress over time.

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