Office of Diversity Engagement and Community Outreach
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Ignatian Tradition
Diversity Engagement & Community Outreach
Serving as the university's institutional equity office, the Office of Diversity Engagement and Community Outreach (DECO) seeks to promote a campus climate and culture that values diversity in all its forms — through inclusive dialogues, interpersonal experiences, and intercultural appreciation — in support of a thriving campus climate and inclusive excellence.
Meet Vice Provost Wardell Ghirarduzzi
We have to begin small, we have to begin to be open, and we have to change the inequities that are hidden and make them known and make them seen.
—DR. MARY J. WARDELL GHIRARDUZZI
LEARN MORE ABOUT DECO'S LEADERSHIP »
Areas of Focus
CAPACITY BUILDING & COMMUNITY FORMATION
DECO designs spaces of learning and dialogue for faculty, staff, and students through capacity building initiatives and programming, such as our Centering Equity Series learning sessions. We provide thought partnership, advocacy, and mentorship to effectively expand awareness of racial, gender, disability and other equity issues; develop skills for inclusive education; and facilitate the exchange of best practices to advance the success of traditionally underrepresented and disenfranchised university and community populations.
CAMPUS CLIMATE & CULTURE
DECO develops programs and initiatives that respond to current attitudes, behaviors, and experiences of historically underrepresented and disenfranchised university community members. We assess ever-changing campus climate needs and proactively design spaces for community building to create a campus culture in which we all thrive.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH & PARTNERSHIPS
Through community-centered initiatives, DECO welcomes the larger San Francisco Bay Area community to our campus to facilitate critical partnerships with local, national, and global leaders, as well as other anchor institutions.
POLICY ADVISEMENT
Through collective discernment processes that acknowledge the full range of community experiences, campus members come together to create and influence institutional policies and processes that can alleviate gaps and build resources. DECO's policy advisement develops a network of experts in various areas of campus equity work.