Gallaudet University

In response to the Supreme Court's ruling (6/29/23) on affirmative action, GU states the following: "As stated in the Admissions website, their process for evaluating the admission of students is holistic. The admissions office considers multiple factors, including: academic achievement, test scores, community service, extracurricular activities, personal essays, and letters of recommendation with each application. As you can see from the charts below, the diversity of Gallaudet’s study body continues to grow and the ability to retain students of color is improving. The university remains committed to this work."

As part of GU's "First Ever Anti-Racism Commitment," the university would "increase the diversity of our student body, staff, faculty and teachers."

The University has a "Diversity Statement and Guidelines" which states "Gallaudet University as an institution embraces diversity." The guidelines state, "The University will actively seek to recruit students of color, and students with different communicative pursuits as well as other dimensions of diversity and will endeavor to provide a supportive environment on campus for all students."

Gallaudet has announced that it will create bias training for students, faculty, staff, alumni, and administrators by May 2021.

Gallaudet’s Division of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusive Excellence offers “resources, training, EDI coaching and advising that allows our stakeholders to develop stronger intercultural and anti-oppression competency and a sense of shared accountability.”

The Division of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusive Excellence states that it provides "resources, training, EDI coaching and advising that allows our stakeholders to develop stronger intercultural and anti-oppression competency and a sense of shared accountability."

GU's Deaf-Centric Institute "aims to produce qualified and credentialed DEI professionals to collaboratively sustain a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion, belonging, and social justice in deaf diverse communities."

The University offers "Unpacking Bias and Anti-Oppression Training" which is a "three-session training that is open to all students." The training sessions are titled "Unpacking Bias," "Anti-Oppression" and "Dialogue." Students who complete all three receive a certificate.

GU outlines its bias incident reporting protocol and states, "If you witnessed or were a target of a bias incident, you can use the reporting form here to make the University aware of the incident(s)."

As part of GU's "First Ever Anti-Racism Commitment," the university would "provide and require additional anti-racism training for staff and faculty."

GU created an "Anti-Racism Pledge" and asks that community members sign in acknowledgement of the pledge. The pledge reads in part: "I will not participate, encourage, tolerate, or ignore direct or indirect, blatant or inferred, intentional or unintentional acts of discrimination, bias, antagonism, hate or harassment of any sort, under any circumstances."

As part of GU's "First Ever Anti-Racism Commitment," the university would "continue to support Black Lives Matter and its 13 Guiding Principles."

In December 2022, Gallaudet will be starting a program to hire "BIPOC DDBDDHH vendors, contractors, and suppliers."

Gallaudet’s Intercultural Alliances program “is committed to supporting people in their journey of discovery of their participation (passive and active) in systems of oppression with the aim of creating a more equitable, accessible, and welcoming environment for members of marginalized communities.”

Gallaudet’s Turn-a-Page-Together program allows students, faculty, staff, and alumni to collectively “engage in courageous, sustained and transformational intergroup dialogues about books pertaining to culture and diversity.”

Gallaudet has added the position of Chief Diversity Officer, which will collaborate on a program to reimagine the university's Department of Public Safety.

As part of GU's "First Ever Anti-Racism Commitment," the university would "require additional training for the officers at the Department of Public Safety, including training on implicit and explicit bias...." Additionally GU would "ensure that student engagement, especially from student organizations of color, be part of the hiring process for the Department of Public Safety."

According to a March 2022 Address to the Black Student Union, all members of the Department of Public Safety would be required to "participate annually in developmental educational and personal growth workshops" that focus on "Implicit and Explicit Bias in Law Enforcement, the historical perspective of racism in society and higher education." The University also stated it "recognizes the systemic racism embedded into the Gallaudet experience for many in our community and is taking increased action to eradicate it."

Gallaudet University offers several courses and programs in critical theory, critical race theory, marxism, etc. For instance, the course "Introduction to Cultural Studies" investigates how culture shapes the way people see the world. Students will engage with critical theories, including marxism, feminism, postcolonialism and critical race theory as a means of understanding the intersectionalities of deaf lives.

An update was provided regarding "Anti-Racism Progress" in Aprill 2021.

Gallaudet’s Department of Communications and Community Engagement is home to “Inclusive Excellence Ambassadors and Inclusive Excellence Student Ambassador programs” and other similar initiatives.

Gallaudet set a goal to “establish the University-wide Social Justice & Racial Equity Collaborative (SJREC) by fall 2021” and “have the University-wide Social Justice & Racial Equity Collaborative (SJREC) charter in place by winter 2022.”

Gallaudet made a goal to “construct and make public a University-wide Anti-Racism policy with calls to action and sanctions by the end of FY 2021.”

Gallaudet’s Student Affairs hosts the Multicultural Student Programs which “provides resources and spaces for students of color, LGBTQ+ students, first generation students, and other students from marginalized and underserved backgrounds.”

Gallaudet is home to the Student of Color Safe Space, which functions to “provide targeted and direct support for students of color; provide a safe space for students of color to chill, study and decompress; and form collaborative relationships with two critical campus departments and units– Student Success and Academic Quality, and Campus Activities — to provide direct support to students of color.”

The primary and secondary education center is creating an anti-racist Equity Plan.

As part of GU's "First Ever Anti-Racism Commitment," the university would "conduct a thorough review of all campus structures, names, and signs."

The University's Staff Employment Procedures require that when "additional recruitment is conducted, advertisements should be placed in sources that will provide for a qualified and diverse applicant pool."

The Principles of Community (Core Values) of the University include Social Justice and Respect, among others. It states, "We strive to overcome historical and divisive biases in our community and society."