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A Loyola University Chicago female nursing student at graduation

Inclusive Excellence

Inclusive Excellence

A transformative approach to educating nurses, healthcare teams, and our communities to be more diverse, inclusive, equitable, and anti-racist.

THE MARCELLA NIEHOFF SCHOOL OF NURSING is committed to ensuring that our nursing students and educators are engaging in anti-racist actions to build a more socially-just world. Aligning with, and innovating beyond, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, Medicine’s The Future of Nursing 2020-2030 report, we have dedicated resources, time, and energy to educate students, faculty, staff, and our surrounding communities to be more diverse, inclusive, equitable, and anti-racist. We will accomplish this goal through a comprehensive approach guided by the tenets of Inclusive Excellence: intrapersonal awareness, interpersonal awareness, curriculum transformation, inclusive pedagogy, and inclusive learning environments.

Inclusive Excellence requires us to build equity-minded leadership capacity where all members of the School of Nursing recognize patterns of inequity, take responsibility for student success and outcomes, and take a race-conscious, socio-historical understanding of exclusionary practices in nursing and nursing education.

Our guiding principles

  • Implement a vision and strategy that supports evidence-based and equitable initiatives to recruit, retain, and increase success for historically marginalized and underrepresented students, faculty, and staff.
  • Develop and sustain inclusive and representative educational learning environments.
  • Create and change policy to institutionalize these principles.
  • Become a national leader and model for inclusive excellence and anti-racism in nursing education.

52%

undergraduate student of color enrollment

21%

Full-time faculty of color

74%

Of faculty participated in DEI trainings
Get involved in Inclusive Excellence at the School of Nursing.

RESOURCES

Anti-racist actions and thoughts require us to understand how racially diverse groups experience society and how systemic inequity requires us all to take actions to eradicate those systems. Explore our many resources to learn more about anti-racist initiatives and practices at Loyola and beyond. 

MNSON Inclusive Excellence Policy Statements

Inclusive excellence statement

Working toward inclusive excellence includes building intrapersonal and interpersonal awareness, engaging in curriculum transformation, teaching with an inclusive pedagogy, and building inclusive learning environments. We recognize that our community is strengthened by the diversity of our students, faculty, and staff along the social dimensions of race, color, religion, biological sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, parental status, military/veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are especially committed to helping our nation create a culture of health, promote health equity to reduce health disparities, and improve the health and well-being of all, especially for those groups who experience the health system disparately due to systemic oppressions.

This policy should be included in the following documents. The policy can also be included in other MNSON documents (e.g., syllabi) if desired.

  • Student handbook
  • Job postings
  • MNSON website
  • Strategic Plan
  • MNSON Sharepoint

Chosen name and pronouns statement

Class rosters and university data systems are provided to instructors with only students’ legal names presented. Knowing that not all students use their legal names or identify with a gender that aligns with their sex assigned at birth, faculty members/I will use the name and/or personal pronouns you use. If you choose, you may email the faculty member/me directly to share your information. Additionally, if these change at any point during the semester, please let the faculty member/me know. For more information on how to change your name in LOCUS, please visit the Preferred Name Policy here.

This policy should be included in the following documents. The policy can also be included in other MNSON documents (e.g., syllabi) if desired.

  • Student handbook

MNSON-Related Resources and Documents

MNSON-Related Resources and Documents

Title Link
 Inclusive Excellence in Clinical Settings: Clinical Faculty Training Launch 
Monkeypox: Eradicating a virus through removing stigma and shame 

Download PDF

Watch Recording
(p/c:GC!mMSx8)

4 Tips for Creating Inclusive and Anti-Racist Classrooms  Download PDF 
Using Validation Theory as a Tool for Student Success Download PDF
Inclusive Excellence Policies '22 Download PDF

Spiritual and Theological Resources

Click the title to view 

Title  Purpose 

Ignatian Solidarity Network | An Examen for White Allies

An Examen for White
Allies.

The assumptions of white privilege and what we can do about it

A powerful reflection on
white privilege using the
example of Amy Cooper.
Massingale integrates a
theological-ethical
argument for examining
and dismantling white
privilege.

Video lecture at Notre Dame

Matthew Cressler in a
lecture at Notre Dame
argues that centering
stories of Black Catholics
requires us to reimagine
broader histories of
American Catholicism.

Toward a Catholic Understanding of the Phrase “Black Lives Matter"

An explanation behind
the cry “Black Lives Matter”.

The Church and Racism: A Voice Crying in the Wilderness

Clarence Williams, CPPS,
Ph.D. helps the Church
yet to find its voice to
address racism, by
speaking about Racial
Sobriety as a way forward.  

Prayers for Racial Justice and Reconciliation

They’re different prayers
about racial injustice for
people to think about

Prayer for the elimination of racism

This is a prayer to
eliminate racism by
the Sisters Of Mercy. 

Ad hoc committee against racism

These are two videos,
a prayer, the latest
information, and more
resources provided by
the United Conference
Of Catholic Bishops. 

Combatting racism - parish resources

Another resource from
the United Conference
of Catholic Bishops which
contains links to various
PDFs composed of prayers
and backgrounders.

General Congregation 34, Decree 3 Our Mission and Justice

Jesuits decide to address
more urgent calls for
justice and taking more
steps to address these
injustices that are
happening.

Bishops Letter: Open Wide Our Hearts

This addresses Catholics
and how to open oneself
for learning and
addressing ways they can
start making differences
within their family. 

A Message on George Floyd †, Race and Jesuit Education

The president of Loyola
High School explains the
Ignatian duty to teach
and to change internally.

We Stand…

This highlights the
disparities that are
happening with COVID-19
and urges people to see
each other as one.

Standing Together in the Community of God

This book touches on
how the Church is present
and how God is then
present within us and
around us. 

6 guidelines I’ve learned for talking about race

This resource seems to
fall into both the
interpersonal and
theological categories as
it is a step-by-step guide
to bring about anti-racism
within oneself.

Black History Month: Confronting the Mixed History of the Jesuits

Reconcile the history
that Catholics and
Jesuits have played
in continuing racism
in their communities.

The Ignatian Witness to Truth in a Climate of Injustice

To give ways that
those in higher education
can take steps to address
racism within themselves
and their community and
actively work for change.

Statement: Catholic Theologians for Police Reform and Racial Justice

A call to action from Catholic
theologians on police reform
and racial justice.

Black theology and a legacy of oppression

A leading Catholic theologian
offers an overview of black
theology written for a popular
audience.

Bryan Massingale, Racial Justice in the Catholic Church

A must-read for faith formation
and education around racism
and Catholic social thought.

After George Floyd’s Suffocation: A Litany for Oxygen From a Black Jesuit

A priest recounts how George Floyd
only wanted to breathe,
which is something God
gave everyone the right
to do, so it’s not right for
black people to be denied it.

Bishop Seitz Letter

This letter focuses on
anti-Latino racism that
exists and also must be
addressed.

Racism is a Soul Sickness, Can Jesuit Spirituality Help Us Heal?

An article about how racism
is within us, so we must
turn to God and ask for
strength to unite and heal
our society. 

Letter from Birmingham Jail

MLK writes about how The
Civil Rights Movement is
for people to finally be
granted their God-given
rights, along with their
constitutional rights. 

Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World

Article about how as the
world changes, the church
must adjust according to
the Bible and recognize
how to address injustices
that persist.

Shawn Copeland Enfleshing Freedom: Body, Race, and Being

Copeland interprets
Christology and
sacramental theology
with an intersectional lens.

In the fight against racism, white Christians must break cycle of distraction

To get people to stop the
cycle of caring only to
pretend racial injustice
doesn’t exist anymore. 

Catholic Social Teaching (CST) and Racism

How people need to
address racism in
themselves and their
communities to end it due
to being morally unjust. 

How Can Catholics help lead the fight against racism?

Ways that Catholics can
bring the BLM movement
into their spaces to hear
what is needed and take
action instead of being
silent. 

The church must make reparation for its role in slavery, segregation

Shannen Dee Williams is
a leading Catholic historian
whose work examines
racism in the Catholic
Church and provides a
theological argument for
reparation. 

Kelly Brown Douglass, Stand your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God

Written after the murder
of Trayvon Martin,
Douglass examines how
the myth of white
supremacy was supported
by the idea of Christian
exceptionalism. She offers
a critical womanist
perspective to challenge
this myth.

 

The Assumption of White Privilege and What We Can Do About It

The article highlights what
Catholics should do to
make more active efforts
against racism within our
communities. 

Arrupe Letter to North American Jesuits on Race

Arrupe wrote the letter to
emphasize how dire action
is needed and that the Jesuits
can’t let it continue. 

Pastoral Letter on Racism

The letter emphasizes how
racism exists within the
Church’s system and how
it needs to be fixed by
people actively working on
themselves and their
community. 

Beyond Apology

Reconciling the impact
of Jesuits on native
communities. 

Thank you to the Jesuits West Collaborative Organizing for Racial Justice for aggregating many of these resources.

Definitions

The School of Nursing's Inclusive Excellence Task Force has defined several important terms to establish a shared lexicon for faculty, staff, and students. Important to understanding these terms is that they all must be understood together and in relationship with each other.

Diversity

Defined broadly, diversity refers to the vast array of salient, socially constructed, and value-laden identities across humankind, inclusive of but not limited to age, citizenship, class, color, disability, gender identity and expression, national origin, race, religion, and sexual identity. More specifically, diversity refers to historically oppressed and marginalized groups who because of oppressive social systems are underrepresented in U.S. higher education.  

Inclusion

Inclusion refers to how institutional practices, policies, and habits transform to include diverse people and perspectives, especially those from historically oppressed groups. The ongoing and adaptive practice of inclusion impacts campus culture and climate.

Equity

The process of modifying practices that have intentionally disadvantaged a particular group so that all people in that group have an equal opportunity to thrive, succeed, and reach their goals. The process is ongoing, requiring us to recognize that we do not all start from the same place and must acknowledge and adjust to imbalances arising from oppressive social systems. 

Intersectionality

The interconnected nature of social systems inclusive of but not limited to ageism, xenophobia, classism, colorism, ableism, heteronormativity, racism, religious oppression, and transantagonism. These systems create overlapping and interdependent systems of oppression that help explain the complexity of human experiences.

Equality

Every individual has the same opportunity to make the most of their lives and talents. Equality is the distribution of the same resources and opportunities to every individual across a population. Equality aims to promote  fairness and must be paired with equitable practices. To have equal systems, all people should be treated fairly, unhampered by stereotypes, biases, or prejudices. 

Social Justice

Social justice entails identifying and contesting social policy and processes in which power and privilege  create inequitable outcomes for marginalized groups that inhibit their democratic empowerment, health equity, health access, and civil and human rights. When injustices occur, the aim is to identify solutions to remove systemic barriers and create equitable access and opportunities for all.

Antiracism

Ongoing actions against racial hatred, bias, systemic racism, and the oppression of historically oppressed and minoritized groups. Anti-racist work institutionalizes policy and programs that address racism. 

Microaggression

The everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership. 

Implicit Bias

Attitudes, beliefs, prejudices, and stereotypes that are activated without awareness or intentional control that may impact our understanding, actions, or decisions.  

Civility

Civility is treating one another with respect and inherent dignity of human worth through our words and actions. Civility does not mean that we will agree on everything or that our disagreements can hide behind “niceness”; rather civility includes listening, acknowledging, valuing, and collaborating without degrading someone else in the process. 

Systemic Racism

Any embedded policies, laws, practices, and social and cultural norms that perpetuate and sanction racial inequities against people of color.

Discrimination

The unfair and unjustifiable treatment of individuals or groups based on (but not limited to) their race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, social class, physical ability or attributes, religious or ethical values system, national origin, and political beliefs.

Books and articles

Asian/Asian American and Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian

Whiteness

Settler Colonialism and Decolonization

Diversity in Academic Nursing Education

Native American, American Indian, Indigenous, First Peoples

Racism and Anti-Racism

2SLGBTQA+

Diversity

Classroom Inclusion

Admissions and Holistic Admissions 

Undocumented, DACA Students

Social Justice Action

Disability and Ableism

International Students 

Climate Assessment

At Loyola Nursing, we seek to create an environment characterized by openness, fairness, and equal access for all students, staff, and faculty. A welcoming and inclusive campus climate is grounded in mutual respect, nurtured by dialogue, evidenced by a pattern of civil interaction, and is one of the foundations of our educational model. Creating and maintaining a community environment that respects individual needs, abilities, and potential is critically important.

During the 2022 Spring semester, Loyola Nursing will undertake a vital and relevant climate assessment. This is our chance to make a difference in Loyola Nursing’s future, our opportunity to make positive, lasting changes and to help create a more inclusive campus. To ensure full transparency and to provide a more complete perspective, we have contracted with Rankin & Associates Consulting, LLC, to help lead this effort. Rankin & Associates Consulting, LLC, has conducted over 200 campus climate assessment projects over the last 20 years.

Read more about the assessment here.

Arrupe BSN Pathway Cohort Jessica Martinez-Vega stands in front of the Loyola University Chicago crest on a brick wall.

CARE Pathway

The award-winning CARE (Collaboration, Access, Resources, and Equity) Pathway to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing supports undergraduates from underrepresented backgrounds.

Read More
A headshot of Dian Squire
News Spotlight

Meet the Founding Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence

In August 2021, the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing welcomed its Founding Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence Dian Squire. A Rambler himself, Squire earned his PhD in Higher Education from Loyola in 2015, during which he led multiple initiatives to address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Read More
Headshots of Peggy and Tom Bell on a dark green background
News Spotlight

Understanding the true meaning of patient care

In spring 2020, Peggy and Tom created a generous endowment, which will fund scholarships for students in the BSN Pathway, a new program the School of Nursing developed in partnership with Loyola’s Arrupe College.

Read More

THE MARCELLA NIEHOFF SCHOOL OF NURSING is committed to ensuring that our nursing students and educators are engaging in anti-racist actions to build a more socially-just world. Aligning with, and innovating beyond, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, Medicine’s The Future of Nursing 2020-2030 report, we have dedicated resources, time, and energy to educate students, faculty, staff, and our surrounding communities to be more diverse, inclusive, equitable, and anti-racist. We will accomplish this goal through a comprehensive approach guided by the tenets of Inclusive Excellence: intrapersonal awareness, interpersonal awareness, curriculum transformation, inclusive pedagogy, and inclusive learning environments.

Inclusive Excellence requires us to build equity-minded leadership capacity where all members of the School of Nursing recognize patterns of inequity, take responsibility for student success and outcomes, and take a race-conscious, socio-historical understanding of exclusionary practices in nursing and nursing education.

Our guiding principles

  • Implement a vision and strategy that supports evidence-based and equitable initiatives to recruit, retain, and increase success for historically marginalized and underrepresented students, faculty, and staff.
  • Develop and sustain inclusive and representative educational learning environments.
  • Create and change policy to institutionalize these principles.
  • Become a national leader and model for inclusive excellence and anti-racism in nursing education.
Get involved in Inclusive Excellence at the School of Nursing.

RESOURCES

Anti-racist actions and thoughts require us to understand how racially diverse groups experience society and how systemic inequity requires us all to take actions to eradicate those systems. Explore our many resources to learn more about anti-racist initiatives and practices at Loyola and beyond.