Acknowledgements

This Equity and Inclusion Action Plan is built on a solid foundation of years of efforts by students, staff, faculty, alumni, and College leadership to advance the goals of full participation. For many decades, the College has engaged with the topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion—and incremental progress has occurred over a very long period because of the intellectual labor, time, and energy generously given by so many.

We express our deepest gratitude to Judy Kirmmse, the College’s former affirmative action officer, for her eloquent historical summary of the College’s diversity and inclusion efforts. Her work was instrumental in establishing the timeline of diversity and inclusion milestones that appears on this site. 

Thank you to Amy Dooling, associate dean of global initiatives, director of the Walter Commons, and professor of Chinese, for providing historical information pertaining to the College’s international education efforts.

Thank you to Sandy Grande, current director of the Center for the Critical Study of Race and Ethnicity and professor of education, for providing many helpful recommendations and revisions to this document.

Thank you to Audrey Zakriski, current director of the Holleran Center for Community Action and Public Policy and professor of psychology, and Michael Reder, director of the Joy Shechtman Mankoff Center for Teaching and Learning, for generously outlining numerous opportunities for partnership and collaboration in the years to come.

Thanks to John Nugent, director of institutional research and planning, and Makayla Grays, assistant director, for providing the institutional data that informs this action plan and for helping to identify a survey instrument for our semi-regular campus climate study. Also, thanks to John for finding and sharing a historical registrar record of minority student enrollment.

There are too many people who have served on formal and ad hoc committees, working groups, and task forces over the decades to acknowledge each person by name. However, the list below is our attempt to recognize the individuals and groups known to have played leading roles in previously submitting reports or making formal recommendations that have been implemented at Connecticut College or merged into this new action plan:

  • Report of the Presidential Commission on a Pluralistic Community (2002-03), Maria Cruz Saco, chair
  • Multiculturalism and Diversity Curriculum Subcommittee (2003), Sandy Grande, chair
  • President’s Initiative on Staff Diversity Implementation Team (2012), Cheryl Miller and Judy Kirmmse, co-chairs
  • SWOT Analysis of Diversity at Connecticut College (2013), submitted by former Dean Carolyn Denard
  • Recommendations for Improving Campus Community on Issues of Race & Ethnicity (2013), Carolyn Denard
  • Connecticut College Working Group on Making Excellence Inclusive (2014-15), Sandy Grande, chair
  • Full Participation Working Group (2015-16), Candace Howes, chair and FP coordinator
  • Report to the President on Structural and Financial Barriers to Full Participation (2016), Jefferson Singer, chair
  • Full Participation Working Group (2016-17), Co-led by: Christopher Barnard, Sunil Bhatia, MaryAnne Borrelli, Sandy Grande, Tina O’Keefe, Maureen Ronau, and Ariella Rotramel; Consultant: Lauren Anderson
  • Full Participation Co-Coordinators (2017-18), Deb Eastman and Tanya Schneider
  • Full Participation Co-Coordinators (2018-19), Deb Eastman and Sufia Uddin

We would also like to acknowledge the suggestions and feedback we received from the campus community during open forums and numerous meetings. Thank you to everyone who provided input and feedback throughout this collaborative process.