Equity and justice are central to our College. We seek to cultivate justice-oriented, engaged citizens, educators and professionals who will complete our programs prepared to advocate for and work with diverse populations. In order to effectively prepare our students for a wide variety of careers in education and human development, we build learning communities that acknowledge and appreciate the diversity of our students and the schools and communities with which our students will work. More specifically, we strive to create equity-minded citizens and educators who value multiple types of diversity, including but not limited to age, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, geographic location, immigration status, Indigeneity, language, nationality, political affiliation, race/ethnicity, religion/spirituality, sexual identity and socioeconomic status/social class. We apply equity and justice principles by engaging our students in culturally-sustaining practices, diverse curriculum and materials, and critical reflection and by creating open, proactive spaces where important and relevant issues are discussed, debated, and re-conceptualized with support from faculty, staff and University partners.

These guiding principles inspire our individual and collective practice and infuse the following three foundational components of the college, from which our teaching, scholarly activities, service and departmental structure are derived.