Dr. Lauren H. Howard
Franklin & Marshall College
Commitment to Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
A college education continues to be one of the keys to upward economic mobility in the United States. However, students do not arrive on campus on equal footing, creating rifts in the opportunities available to them. As an educator, it is my job to work within my institution and the larger community to facilitate equitable learning experiences. This involves continually seeking out and educating myself on the varied experiences of our students, learning best practices for working alongside them, and amplifying their voices when they feel they cannot.
DEI in higher education also extends beyond our student population. If we want to see academia shift towards a more equitable experience, we have to embrace diversity across all aspects of campus life. Thus, it is important to support faculty members who may feel overburdened by tokenism or exhausted by the extra load their identities might afford, to acknowledge prejudices built into the academic system, and to recognize power differentials across faculty and staff divides.
I will never be a "DEI expert" because the wonderfully diverse experiences present on this earth are always in shifting. However, this page will be a place I continue to share resources and information as I learn.