Texas A&M AgriLife’s mission is to be responsive of all Texans. We strive to improve the lives and environments of every Texan through education, research, extension and service. As part of Texas A&M AgriLife, one of the goals of the College of Agriculture and Life Science is to provide a welcoming and productive scholastic environment that is inclusive of all members of its community, nondiscriminatory on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, or veteran status. Our goal for inclusive excellence will be achieved through coordinated recruitment, mentoring and retention of a diverse faculty, staff, and student body — one that promotes open dialogue, freedom of ideas and an atmosphere of respect.
Progress
As a college, we are committed to change, and we also realize that we still have far to go and much to learn. We have already begun work on a number of initiatives:
- The recent establishment of the position of Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence in the College brings us in line with our peer institutions, who have a similar position in each case.
- The College is more directly involved than our peers in terms of screening the applicant pool prior to approving interviews, and supporting expanding the number of interviews to assist with increasing the number of diversity candidates.
- We are launching a postdoctoral fellowship program that will increase diversity among our research community. This will supplement what is offered through the Accountability, Climate, Equity and Scholarships (ACES) Fellows Program and will be a collaborative effort with the Texas A&M Office of Diversity.
- The College will be asking each department to establish (or continue) a climate committee. The college committee will develop one action item each semester to further our diversity, inclusion, climate, and equity goals.
- The College will be conducting an inventory of curricula offerings that include civil and cultural discourse.
- We are partnering with the Department of Multicultural Services on the implementation of a certificate in cultural competency which will integrate programs, courses and service learning into a certificate program to help students prepare for participation in the modern global economy.