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 has 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 here; additionally, you can read the Penn GSE Diversity Action Plan.

Increasing Accountability

Dean Pam Grossman and other 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. In 2017, Dean Grossman created the Committee on Race, Equity, and Inclusion. 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

Launched in 2017, Penn GSE's Committee on Race, Equity, and Inclusion is comprised of students, faculty, and staff. The Committee has focused on addressing school climate, the development of HEARD in 2018—a center that brings together students and faculty interested in issues of race and equity—and strengthening policies and procedures for dealing with sexual harassment and racial bias. Penn GSE continues to hold open forums for students, faculty, and staff to learn about the committee’s work and to respond to their recommendations and suggestions in both areas. Read our procedures around sexual harassment and bias reporting.

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Staff and faculty training concerning sexual harassment, sexual violence reporting, and bias began in 2017 and is an ongoing effort. Additionally, key staff and faculty receive more in-depth instruction from Penn Violence Prevention to ensure that community members have multiple avenues if they should need assistance. We now require all incoming students to view a module and give feedback on how the University of Pennsylvania handles sexual violence and harassment issues. The Committee has facilitated research-based anti-sexual harassment role-play training for faculty. 

In spring 2018, the Committee implemented Penn GSE's first survey on school climate for its entire community of students, faculty, and staff. Key learnings inform the Committee's annual agenda. 

Additionally, the Committee on Race, Equity, and Inclusion is deeply committed to supporting any members of our community who have witnessed or have been the targets of bias-related incidents, particularly racial bias. To that end, the Committee developed bias reporting procedures and resources for any members of our community who have experienced a discriminatory or hurtful act, and can also assist them in identifying campus and school resources to help them understand their options.

Resources can be found on our Equal Opportunities and Harassment Policies page under Formal Complaints and Reporting Offices. Members of the Penn community can access an online Bias Incident Reporting Form here. A number of additional events and gatherings will be planned throughout the year around any number of themes aimed at promoting understanding.

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.