December: Be Curious About Results and Progress

Throughout 2023, Yale students, faculty, staff, and alumni participated in monthly engagement opportunities and contributed to Yale’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. These opportunities complimented presidential priorities and actions all schools and administrative divisions took to advance Belonging at Yale.
 
Continue exploring these Belonging at Yale resources and be curious about how we’re progressing–together.

Many individuals and organizations are associated with Belonging at Yale. Have we missed something? Please let us know.

Belonging Unit Plans

In a coordinated effort across the university, each school and administrative division develops a yearly action plan to support and enhance diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), and belonging. Plans give specific attention to the experiences of staff, faculty, alumni, and students, especially people of color. This planning process is one of a set of commitments announced by President Salovey in October 2020 as part of a new phase of Belonging at Yale.

Learn how your unit, or others, supported Belonging at Yale over the last year. Additionally, on December 6, President Salovey and Secretary and Vice President for University Life Kimberly Goff-Crews will share the 2023 Belonging at Yale annual report.

Recent Engagement Opportunities

In August, we were reminded to Be Curious about Belonging at Yale and to learn about the community we’re fostering. This included engaging in monthly opportunities to honor our diversity, such as:

We also practiced “being open” and “being curious” about belonging at Yale, including sharing the following events and resources:

Be Open to Building Community…Over Bagels

The Joesph Slifka Center for Jewish Life encouraged all Yale community members, Jewish or non-Jewish, to visit and participate in bi-monthly bagel brunches. The brunches offer the perfect setting to meet friends and experience belonging at Yale. Learn more about the Slifka Center.

Be Open to Connection

Being Well at Yale offered two “doga” yoga practices on Cross Campus to promote feeling connected–to ourselves and others—as central to our health and wellbeing. The events featured Heidi, the Public Safety facility dog, her partner Officer Simons, and canine friends. Learn more about Being Well at Yale.

Be Curious About Tradition
2023 Powwow: Roots and Regrowth!

The Native American Cultural Center offered an intertribal powwow, honoring the diversity of the Native American people and celebrating the practice of tradition. The event featured opportunities to witness beadwork, regalia, songs, and drums used by talented Native artists from Yale and local communities. Learn more about the Native American Cultural Center.

Be Curious About How to Make an IMPACT

Yale Alumni Association presented their IMPACT 3 conference, which focused on building an equitable future. Learn more about the Yale Alumni Association’s IMPACT series.

Be Open to Discovery

A range of self-directed activities, festivals, volunteer opportunities, museums, and galleries were shared. Among them was the Yale University Library’s Reading Resilience Project, which amplifies creative works by underrepresented voices. Learn about the Reading Resilience Project, including how to submit your recommendations.

Be Open to Discussion, Remembrance, and Learning

Together with Yale Divinity School, Yale hosted an event to honor the Reverand James W.C. Pennington ’23 M.A.H. and the Reverand Alexander Crummel ’23 M.A.H. and commemorated the conferral of their posthumous M.A. private degrees. During this monthly celebration, the university community was encouraged to learn more about the Yale & Slavery Research Project.

Be Open to Learning About Accessibility

An invitation to learn about Accessibility Services at Yale included information on how to plan an accessible event, design an accessible website, and more. Explore these resources on the Accessibility Services website.

Be Curious About Our Diverse Experiences

Two events honoring veterans were promoted, including a Veterans Day display at the Beinecke Library, highlighting a collection of photographs, correspondence, and other archival materials and a Yale Veterans Day Ceremony. Read a Yale News story about the Veterans Day Ceremony and learn more about the Beinecke Library display.

Recent Announcements

On June 29, President Salovey remarked on the Supreme Court Decisions Regarding Admission in Higher Education and “reaffirm[ed] Yale’s unwavering commitment to creating and sustaining a diverse and inclusive community.” 

On June 14, President Salovey announced the Committee for Recognizing Enslavement and explained that “the committee will work with members of the campus and New Haven communities to commission works of art and related programming to address Yale’s historical roles and associations with slavery and the slave trade as well as the legacy of that history.”

On April 24, President Salovey shared plans to honor the Rev. James W.C. Pennington and the Rev. Alexander Crummell, citing that “although we cannot return to Pennington and Crummell the access and privileges they were denied when they studied at Yale, we recognize their work and honor their legacies by conferring on them these M.A. Privatim degrees.”

To view additional presidential statements, visit the Office of the President website.

Podcasts

Several episodes of the Yale Talk podcast hosted by Yale University President Peter Salovey featured topics related to Belonging at Yale, including:

Stay Connected

Meaningful opportunities for dialogue and feedback are central to Belonging at Yale. Please share your ideas for deepening our a culture of belonging and read recent Belonging at Yale News.