Penn GSE's Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

Penn GSE has long been committed to preparing our students to live, work, and lead in a world marked by sweeping demographic change and interconnectedness. We continually reflect on our policies and practices to ensure that they foster a diverse community of students, faculty, and staff. But there is always much more work to do.

Over the last few years, our community has actively engaged in ongoing learning and dialogue about race, equity, and inclusion—as well as our shared interest in using education to create opportunity. Our nation’s painful reckoning with our long history of anti-Blackness and the recent increase in bias incidents facing AAPI communities have galvanized these efforts.

As a school, we are committed to doing the work to foster a climate of understanding, inclusion, and respect, including

• Welcoming an Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• Increasing accountability
• Preparing anti-racist educators and researchers
• Reaching for more faculty diversity
• Maintaining a diverse student body
• Putting research to work
• Learning together

We invite our students, faculty, and staff to help us build on these efforts. Learn more about our efforts on Race, Equity, and Inclusion.

Increasing Accountability

Senior faculty have worked to foster a collegial and intellectually stimulating environment for our community. For the past few years, faculty, students, and staff have engaged in a series of dialogues on issues of race and inclusion. The Committee on Race, Equity, and Inclusion was created in 2017. This standing committee, whose members include faculty, staff, and students, is focused on addressing school climate and strengthening policies and procedures around such issues as racial bias, LGBTQ+ inclusivity, sexual harassment, and creating a sense of belonging for international students.

Preparing Anti-Racist Educators and Researchers

Every educator needs to develop racial literacy and an understanding of the history of race in America. This understanding is crucial for both participating in a pluralistic democracy and for educating and leading in our racially diverse society. Penn GSE is working to ensure that curricula for our teacher education, counseling, and leadership programs further strengthen—and make more explicit—our practitioner preparation around issues of race and racial justice. The community continues to work to provide ongoing training in anti-racist pedagogy and racial literacy for students, faculty, and staff at Penn GSE.

Putting Research to Work

Penn GSE has several race- and diversity-focused centers, such as the Racial Empowerment Collaborative, which is focused on racial literacy and health in schools and neighborhoods, and HEARD: The Hub for Equity, Anti-Oppression, Research, and Development, which was formed by Penn GSE in 2016 to focus on anti-oppression work in education.

Committee on Race, Equity, and Inclusion

Penn GSE’s Committee on Race, Equity, and Inclusion is a standing committee convened by Raquel M. Arredondo, the Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and co-chaired by Dean Katharine Strunk, Deputy Dean Matthew Hartley, and Professor Howard Stevenson. The Committee comprises GSE faculty, staff, and students who represent the diverse perspectives and lived experiences of our community. The charge of this committee is to: 

• Develop proposals about how the school may best marshal its resources to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion, mitigate instances of sexual bias and harassment, and increase literacy around these areas. 
• Address ongoing issues related to school climate and safety around race and diversity. 
• Prioritize and take actionable steps each year to confront matters which impede the advancement of an equitable, inclusive, and diverse community. 

Our Community's Diversity

Learning Together

Since 2020, we have held an annual “One Book, One GSE” event to engage the community in discussions around race, equity, and inclusion. Each year we invite our students, faculty, and staff to join us in these important discussions.

GSE students, faculty, and staff continue to step up to the challenge of leadership, question the assumptions of the past, and raise our voices as we move forward as a school. We welcome all voices. We would like to underscore that Penn GSE is a place for fostering learning across differences, which requires a listening and respectful stance.

Our commonalities, especially our shared belief in the importance of education, are what bring us together. Our differences—cultural, racial, gender, and beyond—spark challenges and conversations that make us a better community and a better place of learning. We welcome you to these ongoing conversations and look forward to listening to and learning from your perspectives.