Loyola University Maryland

On June 29, 2023, Loyola's President issued a statement in response to the Supreme Court's ruling on affirmative action which reads in part as follows: "This disappointing decision overturns the affirmative-action approach that has been a standard at many colleges and universities...Although this ruling changes the law and will affect some of our processes as a university, it does not—and will not—alter our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice at Loyola University Maryland...We remain committed to approaching the college application process with a focus on equity and inclusion."

As part of the 2021-2022 LMU Common Book, the school provided Ibram X Kendi’s book, “How to be an Antiracist” to the entire first year students to read before arriving on campus. The incoming class then convenes with faculty and classmates to discuss the text when on campus and the text is revisited throughout the year in course discussions and assignments.

Loyola University Office of Equity and Inclusion has a website dedicated to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Action Steps that are being conducted at the university with updated status as of June 2023, highlighting the work towards DEI training of students, incorporating racial justice and anti-racism initiatives, and integrating anti-racism into SGA curriculum and training.

As part of its June 2023 updated DEI Action Steps, Loyola has "[incorporated] racial justice and anti-racism initiatives" into the Messina program (first-year student program) which includes the following: "Racial justice was also incorporated into the mandatory Bystander intervention enrichment session for all first-year students."

Loyola's 2030 Strategic Plan states that it would "[i]nvestigate new student and employee DEIJ training and learning opportunities and increase coordination of justice-related activities that reinforce the University’s core values and shared principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice."

The Academic Advising and Support Center outlines Loyola's "Diversity-Justice Requirement" and states that "students admitted to Loyola under the 2024-2025 Academic Catalogue and later are required to successfully complete two Diversity-Justice designated courses anywhere in their curriculum (students admitted under prior catalogues complete one designated course)."

Loyola outlines its "Bias Reporting Process" which is "intended for incidents where a student has been harmed or caused the harm."

Loyola's "Witness Considerations" webpage outlines its bias incident protocols specifically for those who "have been a witness of bias related behaviors...."

The university canceled the Business School contest on how the Baltimore business community can advance racial equity when one team posted their pitch of creating a mentorship program to educate and build up the underprivileged youth, quoting from Barack Obama. This pitch was described as “disrespectful and racist” promoting “the ideology of white saviorism, white supremacy” and the entire contest was canceled and the Dean stated that the school would be “seeking opportunities for members of our community to participate in a practice of restorative justice.”

University launched the Karson Institute for Race, Peace & Social Justice.

The Messina Integrated Teaching Grants at Loyola University gives priority to “grant applicants that address racial justice and antiracism.”

The General Athletics Endowed Fund contributes to Loyola University through “investments and enhancements for Loyola Athletics in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion.”

The Loyola University Center for Equity, Leadership, and Social Justice in Education “provides a collaborative space to the community for engaged research, and exposure and promotion of impactful work in the area of equity, leadership, and social justice education.”

The mission of Loyola's Diversity Justice Requirement Fund is to "support faculty in their efforts to infuse diversity and justice content into their courses and to support them in the process of applying to get these courses D-J designated."

Professor Ibram X. Kendi was invited to deliver remarks on antiracism and systemic racism during the annual university Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation.

The Center for Teaching and Learning at the university helps educators throughout the United States to integrate Critical Race Theory into teaching methodologies and has a website dedicated to a primer in Critical Race Theory with detailed lesson plans.

The university has a website dedicated to all of their progress and on-going work on Anti-Racism.

The school’s Counseling Center has a website dedicated to Anti-racism and White Accountability where they advise white individuals to move towards becoming anti-racist and attest to their “white accountability” by talking directly to “People of Color with whom there are trusting relationships and who have agreed to offer” feedback.

Loyola University Maryland’s Office of Equity and Inclusion and the President’s Council on Equity and Inclusion have established a list of shared guiding principles on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ).

The University has a website dedicated to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan highlighting the goals, major actions, and measurable outcomes towards equity and inclusivity at the university.

The university provides a number of anti-racism resources with books and materials on various topics including “anti-racism for white people,” “list of 75 things white people can do for racial justice,” Black lives matter,” “guide on racism, anti-blackness and allyship,” “white allies,” and “disarming racial microaggressions.”

On October 5, 2021, the School of Education published an article titled "Why you should care about Critical Race Theory as a K-12 educator" which states, "CRT creates a powerful framework for analyzing and critiquing the ways race and racism have been inscribed into laws, policies, and practices, thereby affecting the society in which we live."

The Office of Academic Affairs hosted the 2023 Diversity Reading Groups which "support and sustain ongoing conversations around racial justice and feminism, masculinity, higher education and slavery, colonization, religion, and how to take action against oppression—on our campus and beyond."

As of June 2023, Loyola has launched the "Student-Athletes for Social Justice" group which is "dedicated to transforming the climate...by developing and creating a more inclusive environment, with a focus on the Black Lives Matter movement, LGBTQ+ communities, and other marginalized groups."

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Loyola University Maryland is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and pledges that “as faculty members of a Jesuit university, we will work to enact best practices to create anti-racist classrooms and foster continuing discernment with respect to racial inequality, racism, and white supremacy among ourselves and with our students.”

The Undergraduate Diversity Advisory Board at Loyola University works to “Increase students’ awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusion through support of diversity initiatives across campus.”

In December 2021, Loyola formed the "President’s Task Force Examining Loyola’s Connections to Slavery" which was "charged with initiating and guiding a university-wide examination of the University’s connections to slavery and its ongoing legacies." The task force report (link provided) was published in January 2024.