Belonging at SLU
Saint Louis University recognizes that belonging is an outcome of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives and efforts.
A sense of belonging is about our experiences; it is a feeling and a sensation; it includes who and how we connect with one another; and it is about our perceptions of value and mattering. Belonging doesn’t happen by accident; it happens by design. SLU strives to foster belonging across student and employee communities through institutional transformation, social connectedness, training and inclusive excellence.
Belonging at SLU Committee
To cultivate a community-wide sense of belonging, DICE launched the Belonging at SLU Committee in September 2023 as part of the institutional infrastructure that will allow belonging to grow across campus environments. Our interdisciplinary, cross-cultural and diverse committee has been intentionally assembled to serve as advisers, ambassadors and advocates toward building an inclusive and equitable environment where all can thrive. More than 30 leaders from 20-plus academic and divisional units (inclusive of students) are participating in a two-year term for the DICE-led Belonging at SLU Committee. Committee working groups are organized based on the themes that emerged from the Discovery of Belonging conducted across the 2022-2023 academic year.
Committee Goals and Objectives
- Cultivate a shared sense of belonging by increasing community-wide understanding of the initiative's purpose, goals and strategies through inclusive institutional communications.
- Increase institutional resources that foster a sense of belonging across environments through accessible tools, guides and other supports.
- Increase a community-wide sense of belonging through the development of accessible pathways to multicultural opportunities of engagement.
- Increase a community-wide sense of belonging through the development of restorative institutional tools that engage multicultural SLU communities across differences.
- Increase institutional knowledge of barriers to belonging across roles and environments by implementing an evidence-based assessment of belonging across SLU communities.
- Increase educational and professional development opportunities that foster a sense of belonging through teaching, learning and inclusive classrooms.
- Increase institutional ability to be responsive to data-driven metrics and indicators of belonging across environments by building accessible pathways to internal data related to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB).
- Increase a sense of belonging through institutional transparency and accountability by measuring and reporting progress towards diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) goals and commitments.
Committee Membership
| Member Name | College, Division or Unit |
|---|---|
| Rochelle Smith, chair | DICE |
| Allison Brewer, co-chair | DICE |
| Luella Loseille | DICE |
| Richard Marks | DICE |
| Michael Hankins | DICE |
| Phoebe Cook | DICE |
| Annie Reis | Athletics |
| Ann Knezetic | Billiken's First Chapter |
| Myles Urban | Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources |
| Joshua Johnson | Department of Public Safety |
| Robert Reddy | Enrollment and Retention Management |
| Andrea Hudgens | Facilities |
| Rita McMillan | Human Resources |
| Cynthia Gonzalez | Graduate Student Association |
| Laurie Mazzuca | SLU-Madrid |
| Clayton Berry | Marketing and Communications |
| Judi Buncher | Mission and Identity |
| Patrick Cousins | Mission and Identity |
| Justin Lacy | Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity |
| Kasi Williamson | Office of the President |
| Nicci Roach | Office of the President |
| Tracy Watkins | Office of the Provost |
| Gina Merys | Reinert Center |
| April Trees | Office of the Provost |
| Joel Mort | Office of the VP of Research |
| Mark Pousson | School of Education |
| Bill Johnson | School of Law |
| Esmeralda Aharon | School of Medicine; Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion |
| Danni Young | School of Social Work |
| Donna Bess Myers | Student Development |
| Knieba Jones-Johnson | University Counseling Center |