Diversity Statement of Brandeis University

March 15, 2006

Established in 1948 as a model of ethnic and religious pluralism, Brandeis University:

• considers social justice central to its mission as a nonsectarian university founded by members of the American Jewish community;
  
  
• aims to engage members of our community as active citizens in a multicultural world;
  
  
• seeks to build an academic community whose members have diverse cultures, backgrounds, and life experiences;
  
  
• believes that diverse backgrounds and ideas are crucial to academic excellence;
  
  
• recognizes the need to analyze and address the ways in which social, cultural and economic inequalities affect power and privilege in the larger society and at Brandeis itself;
  
  
• honors freedom of expression and civility of discourse as fundamental educational cornerstones;
  
  
• seeks to safeguard the safety, dignity, and well-being of all its members;
  
  
• endeavors to foster a just and inclusive campus culture that embraces the diversity of the larger society.