THRIVING DIVERSITY
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Respect leads the journey New Respect Leads council is the next step in a journey towards a thoroughly diverse, inclusive and respectful campus As the eyes and hearts of the nation turned to issues of racial equity and justice this summer, Lipscomb University was not immune to difficult conversations about increasing ethnic diversity and diversity of thought on its campus. Although Lipscomb’s past cannot be changed, the leaders of the institution today know we are on a journey—not yet complete by any means—but a journey moving toward being a better, more respectful, more diverse and more inclusive institution.
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As an academic institution preparing students for a working world that has rapidly become ever more diverse and global over the past few decades, Lipscomb’s primary academic objective is to be a place where diversity, inclusion and cultural competency are intentionally woven into all aspects of its community, said Lipscomb President L. Randolph Lowry. In fact, that goal is not only crucial to the university’s accreditation status but to Lipscomb’s longstanding Christian mission as well, Lowry said. Within the past 15 years, Lipscomb has worked hard to bring a diversity of voices and experiences to students as well as to enhance diversity within the student body through
programs such as the Hispanic Achievers University Grants program, the Veterans Scholars Initiative, the Conversations of Significance guest speaker initiative and an enhanced Global Learning program, among others. In 2016-17, an important step on the journey was taken with the establishment of the Respect Leads initiative. A committee was created to generate ideas for promoting a culture of respectfulness in all quadrants of the university and to identify specific initiatives that the university might undertake leading toward a more respectful university climate. The Respect Leads committee identified a set of core factors associated with our understanding of what it means to be respectful.
