Our Story

Introduction

Western Washington University established the Office of Equity (OE) in July 2021 to address the ongoing, campus-wide call for stronger leadership and coordination in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI) across the campus. The office was created  to bring ADEI efforts into the University's organizational structure, enhancing their impact and coordination.

Western’s 2018 – 2025 strategic plan recognizes that our single most important challenge is to eliminate opportunity gaps for students from diverse and under-represented socio-economic backgrounds and to ensure that we increase retention and persistence rates and the number of such graduates. The strategic plan clearly defines our accountability measures — metrics associated with retention and graduation rates, closing opportunity gaps, degree expansion to meet the needs of Washington employers, and campus climate. 

The relevant strategic goals related to ADEI are:

  • Goal #2: Western will promote a deeper understanding of and engagement with place.
  • Goal #3: Western will cultivate a caring and supportive environment where everyone is respected and treated fairly.
  • Goal #4: Western will strive for justice and equity in its policies, practices, and impacts. 

Our approach to ADEI work on campus, and the conceptual framework we build upon, is grounded in belonging and community building. Read the ADEI Dynamic Plan here.

One Unit, Two Functions

The Office of Equity aims to create a fair and welcoming environment for everyone at the university. It does this in two main ways:

  1. Protecting Rights:  The office makes sure the university follows laws about equal treatment. Through the Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance office, we handle complaints about discrimination, help those affected, and work to fix any problems. 
  2. Building Community: We organize activities to help people learn about and appreciate diversity. This includes training, discussions, and events that bring people together.

The office also works to:

  • Improve university policies to make them more inclusive
  • Support programs that help all students succeed
  • Promote efforts to make the campus more diverse and welcoming

Overall, the Office of Equity's goal is to create a university community where everyone feels respected, included, and able to achieve their best, and to build a culture where people from all backgrounds can thrive.

Role Of The Chief Diversity Officer

The Chief Diversity Officer and Executive Director of the Office of Equity (CDO/ED) has an important job at the university. Their main tasks are:

  1. Working across different departments to make positive changes in the university.
  2. Helping university leaders handle important issues that affect everyone on campus.
  3. Connecting with the State Office of Equity to make sure the university follows state laws.
  4. Setting up and overseeing required training on accessibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI) for students, teachers, and staff.
  5. Reporting to state leaders about how well the university is doing with these efforts.

The CDO/ED has a unique role because they can see what the whole university needs, and their job is to balance these needs with what the law requires.

While everyone at WWU should care about ADEI, the CDO/ED takes the lead in making sure it happens.

About Dr. Hughes

Dr. Jacqueline Hughes is a multi-national individual who has lived in both British and U.S. communities in the Caribbean, Hughes’s life experiences have given her the ability to move with ease among multicultural communities. 

She has served in multiple faculty and administrative roles over the past two and half decades and brings a wealth or experience to WWU in her role as Chief Diversity Officer. Hughes has developed a keen understanding of academia, and brings her skills and knowledge applying ADEI principles in a complex university environment to help Western more intentionally advance its work in institutionalizing diversity and equity in the culture, policies and practices of the institution. 

Find out more about Dr. Hughes here.