The Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) offers and supports a variety of CIIS experiences, including the Bridge Program for incoming first-year students, diversity workshops, extracurricular events and conversations, dialogues on justice, teach-ins, film screenings, and academic program orientations.
Through these events and the resources, ODI strives to work with the CIIS community to engage the entire institution in meaningful dialogues and actions that lead to introspection and change, affecting not only the academic environment and student experience at CIIS, but the community beyond. ODI also hopes to challenge students to enhance their writing, research, and overall education during their time at CIIS, while supporting faculty and staff in creating diverse, inclusive, and equitable classrooms and curriculums.
ODI’s open door policy welcomes all students, staff, and faculty to drop in to chat about ways to get involved, learn more about diversity resources, or simply connect by emailing frestrepo@ciis.edu.
As many of us are descendants of settlers, immigrants, or descendants of those forcefully brought to this continent, we, ACTCM at CIIS, must recognize and never forget that our University’s building on Arkansas Street in San Francisco occupies traditional, unceded Ramaytush Ohlone (rah-my-toosh oh-loh-nee) lands. In this living document, may we continue to hold Indigenous communities in our hearts and never forget their painful history as we continue the work of liberation for all.
If you are interested in learning more about supporting native lands, languages, and territories, please see the list of resources below. These websites are helpful for you to learn and acknowledge the Indigenous land on which you reside.
In the SF Bay Area, we make voluntary financial contributions to the Yunakin Land Tax and the Shuumi Land Tax, and encourage you to do the same. Read more from the Association for Ramaytush Ohlone on the SF Peninsula, and the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust in the East Bay.
Native Land Map: native-land.ca
Sogorea Te’ and Shuumi Land Tax: sogoreate-landtrust.org
The Association of Ramaytush Ohlone (ARO): ramaytush.com
Bay Area Equity Atlas: https://bayareaequityatlas.org
ACTCM at CIIS holds diversity as a crucial component to our understanding of integral education. We strive to institutionalize justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion as transformative forces that advance academic excellence, personal and professional growth, and radical collaboration for students, faculty, staff, and the communities we serve.
In this living document, we uphold our current commitments to equity and access, while continuing to recognize and move toward our work of creating an antiracist, multicultural institution through the following strategic priorities:
1. Operationalize Racial Justice and Equity
Develop programs, initiatives, and day-to-day decision-making practices and policies based on the future vision of the institution. Develop community relationships and partnerships that prepare students to meet the evolving challenges of our diverse communities.
2. Increase Student and Faculty Diversity and Equity
Diversify student and faculty representation to reflect
Bay Area and nationwide demographics. Foster partnerships with community organizations to build social capital and advance CIIS’ future vision.
3. Expand BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), LGBTQ+ and Liberatory Perspectives
Collaborate with faculty to enrich the curriculum, pedagogy and environment to respect BIPOC scholarship, worldviews, cultures and lifestyles.
4. Create a Culture of Restorative Practice
Institutionalize community practices based on world-wide indigenous models of relationship building, peacekeeping, trust, mutual caring and shared accountability.
5. Develop Institutional Assessments
Measure the effectiveness and impact of the institutional Strategic Priorities.
For more information and to read about current, upcoming, and past initiatives, please visit: ciis.edu/student-resources/diversity-and-inclusion