Samford University

The school will” track required cultural competency education and training for all Samford students, employees, and leadership.”

In the 2022 Diversity Action Plan, Samford states the intent to craft “a framework for learning and practice that intentionally infuses aspects of racial justice and promotes harmony for all of God’s diverse creations” within their curriculum.” Along this line, the plan incorporates a goal to “incorporate elements of racial justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion content into the core curriculum at Samford.”

DEI training will now be a hiring requirement, since the school will “update the training of all new and internal hires to include diversity/inclusion training.”

The school plans to “determine and increase scholarship funds for students of color.”

On November 2, 2022, Samford announced, “The Race, Ethnicity and Social Justice minor was approved by Samford in the spring and went live in fall 2022.”

Events related to DEI will be offered on a regular basis. This includes the school’s goal to “provide campuswide activities including guest speakers that are relevant to diversity, equity, and inclusion work/goals that are aligned with the Racial Justice Task Force and the Diversity Action Plan recommendations.”

The school offers additional incentives for faculty to work in diversity and inclusion. For example, the school will “Incorporate recognition for faculty’s work in diversity and inclusion as a part of promotion and tenure evaluation.”

On February 15, 2022, Samford announced that the school “officially dedicated its Racial Reconciliation Memorial during a public worship service on campus.”

In 2020, “the university embarked on a racial reconciliation initiative–forming a Task Force on Racial Justice, endorsed by then-President Andrew Westmoreland and led by the provost and the Office of Diversity and Intercultural Initiatives.”