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Inclusive excellence

In our commitment to inclusive excellence, we aspire to be the national leader in championing equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.

Three students walk past an informational Mi'kma'ki mural on Dalhousie's Agriculture campus.

Goal

In support of our unwavering commitment to excellence, we aspire to be an accessible destination employer and the national leader in championing equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. 

Our faculty and staff are the source of our success and the key drivers of our vision, mission, and aspirations.

We will prioritize wellness and respect and continue to support and empower our people to achieve their career aspirations; we will recognize individuals and teams for their innovations and successes; and we will all be people-focused and accountable at all levels of the institution.

We will monitor our progress through improved data collection and by sharing evidence of our successes in recruitment, diversity, inclusion, retention, performance, and employee satisfaction.

Actions

  1. Enrich and diversify our faculty and staff complement by actively searching for the most accomplished and promising individuals, evolving our best practices for recruitment and retention, and offering our candidates competitive conditions that attract them to Dalhousie. We will also conduct a review of targeted hiring initiatives, including the Dalhousie Diversity Faculty Awards (DDFA), and make adjustments (e.g., strategic cluster hires) when necessary to ensure significant improvements in recruiting African Canadian and Indigenous faculty and staff, with special emphasis on recruiting and retaining African Nova Scotian and Mi’kmaw faculty and staff.
  2. Foster an institution-wide commitment to a healthy, accessible, and academically inclusive culture for working and learning. Encourage an organizational culture of mutual respect, accountability, and collaboration that acknowledges the value and contribution of all employees to the university’s vision and mission.
  3. Develop actionable strategies to drive the pursuit of excellence and recognize individual and team achievements in the areas of wellness and accessibility including development of an institution-wide wellness strategy and progressive approaches to how we work (including virtual workplaces) that prioritize safety, flexibility, efficiency, engagement, and productivity.
  4. Develop actionable strategies to drive the pursuit of excellence and recognize individual and team achievements in the areas of wellness and accessibility including development of an institution-wide wellness strategy and progressive approaches to how we work (including virtual workplaces) that prioritize safety, flexibility, efficiency, engagement, and productivity.
  5. Provide mentorship, support, and career development opportunities for faculty and staff across all employee groups. This will include a leadership training curriculum that includes a focus on EDIA training and mentorship to achieve people-focused professional goals to maximize support and retention of equity deserving faculty, staff, and leaders.
  6. Prioritize advancing the work of Dalhousie’s Diversity and Inclusiveness Strategy, Indigenous Strategy, African Nova Scotian Strategy, and actions that reflect Dalhousie’s commitment to an anti-racist culture. Commit to improved processes to support the experience of senior leaders from historically underrepresented groups.
  7. Determine and work towards meaningful representation targets for equity deserving groups on Dalhousie’s leadership teams.