1. People & Departments
  2. Offices
  3. President
  4. Diversity Statement

Diversity Statement

Over the past three years, WC's student population has become more diverse, enrolling more first-generation college students and cultivating an appreciation and respect for diverse individuals and cultures. More than 20% of our undergraduates identify as minority students.

Diversity Statement

  • We, the students, faculty, staff, and Board of Visitors and Governors of Washington College, welcome, invite, value, and support a diverse community of individuals. We strive to create a place where all can study, work, and thrive. We believe in the worth, dignity, and safety of human beings of all races, ethnicities, nationalities, gender identities and/or expressions, sexual orientations, socioeconomic statuses, cultural backgrounds, cognitive or physical abilities, emotional and behavioral characteristics, ages, and educational levels. In the pursuit of academic excellence, we endeavor to be a community made up of people from a variety of backgrounds with differing perspectives, life experiences, religious, philosophical, and political beliefs, lifestyles, and ideologies.

    We pledge to create a respectful and supportive environment for collaboration, empathy, and the building of meaningful relationships among members of Washington College. We commit to fostering a more equitable, inclusive, and engaged community that embraces all the complexity that each person brings to campus.

    • We will empower all members to contribute ideas, ask questions, contest assumptions, and revise points of view through civil debate.
    • We will confront and challenge attempts to dehumanize others through prejudiced attitudes, behaviors, and practices that exclude, demean, or marginalize any individual or group.
    • We will encourage alumni, parents, visitors, guests, and the wider community to respect and embrace the values and behaviors that we embody.

    Our promise is to cultivate a continuous desire and ability to understand and meaningfully engage with different perspectives and experiences, including those of historically underrepresented and marginalized groups. We seek to contribute to the full intellectual and emotional development of every person and to the enrichment of our local, regional, national, and global communities.

Programs and Initiatives

 

Jada at Museum for African American History and culture

Chesapeake Heartland Project

Chesapeake Heartland is a collaboration between the National Museum of African American History and culture, Washington College, and an array of local organizations including Sumner Hall, Kent Cultural Alliance, and Kent County Public Library. Its mission is to preserve, digitize, interpret, and make accessible materials related to African American history and culture in Kent County.

CHESAPEAKE HEARTLAND

Slave Sale

Slavery and Freedom at Washington College

Since the Spring of 2018, Professor of History Carol Wilson has led teams of undergraduates investigating Washington College's connection to enslavement, sharing the stories of slaveholders associated with the institution as well as those of enslaved people and free blacks working on campus.

SLAVERY AND FREEDOM AT WASHINGTON COLLEGE

 

Afro-Cuban Dance

Intercultural Ambassadors

The Intercultural Ambassadors (IAs) are students from diverse backgrounds that represent different cultural and life experiences. IAs represent identities that include: first-generation students, the LGBT community, international students, students of color, faith and non-faith efforts on campus, gender, students with disabilities, non-traditional students, and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. The Ambassadors serve as liaisons to the office by providing programming and outreach opportunities that support these specific communities to create a better understanding of different cultural experiences. IAs develop the monthly office newsletters, market events, and manage social media accounts.


INTERCULTURAL AMBASSADORS

LatinX event poster from 2020

 Celebrations - Black Heritage Month and LatinX Heritage Month

 

The goal of LatinX Heritage Month, each September, is for students and our campus community to experience the beauty and complexity of Spanish culture, and hopefully gained more appreciation of Spanish-speaking cultures and their legacies in the US. The LatinX Heritage Month 2019 featured Dr. Paul Ortiz (U of FLorida) and activist Josie Valadez Freire.

During Black History Month in February, we honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout U.S. History. Black History Month 2020 included a day of service on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Day, the African-American Read-In, the MLK Read-In, racial equity training, a talk by author David Blight, and the MSG Blues Trio concert, among many other events.

Members of the College community join hands with community partners to celebrate Legacy Day and Community Unity Day.