Inclusive environment for students
The Cannon-Clary College of Education is dedicated to fostering an inclusive environment for students of all backgrounds to feel supported in order to encourage them to do the same for the students in their own future classrooms.
According to the U.S. Department of Education’s 2016 study focusing on race, ethnicity and inclusion in higher education (pdf), campus leadership and a diverse faculty make a significant impact in achieving inclusiveness in higher education institutions. In the same study, students reported the importance of seeing themselves reflected in the faculty and curriculum of their institution because it fosters a sense of belonging and inclusiveness.
In addition to cultivating inclusiveness, there is an increasing need for education majors among students of underrepresented populations in order to bridge the gap between the growing minority student population of America's schools and the shortage of diverse faculty of the schools. According to the Pew Research Center’s 2018 study, America’s public school teachers are far less racially and ethnically diverse than their students. Racial and ethnic minorities accounted for 20% of all public elementary and secondary school teachers in the United States during the 2015-16 school year. By comparison, 51% of all public elementary and secondary school students were nonwhite in 2015-16.
Diversity Committee
The Diversity Committee was established in 2005 with the intent to increase diversity among students and faculty in the College of Education. Initiatives by the committee actively aim to attract more members of underrepresented populations to major in education and become teachers in classrooms across the globe.
“After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front on the lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.” —Revelation 7:9
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