Commitment to Equity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism

Department Value Statement

The Department of Occupational Therapy is committed to building and sustaining a vibrant community of scholars, students, and staff. We value diversity in our community, including diversity in individuals’ race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, nationality, heritage, language, immigration status and aspects of ability. We seek to cultivate an atmosphere of respect for individual differences in life experiences, and we aspire to be free of intellectual parochialism, barriers to access, and ethnocentrism. We believe that diversity, justice, equity, and inclusion will bolster academic excellence, propagate impactful research, and enhance practice to best serve the health care needs of society. As such, we are committed to anti-racist teaching, scholarship and practice. We will identify policies, practices and cultural norms that perpetuate oppression and inequity, and we will employ policies, practices and cultural norms that promote equity.

The Department of Occupational Therapy is also committed to promoting full engagement in occupations across the life course, for our students, faculty, staff and community members. We acknowledge that multiple systemic, environmental, and personal factors limit meaningful occupational engagement for specific individuals, especially those who identify as members of marginalized racial and ethnic, disability, economically disadvantaged, and/or LGBTQIA+ communities.

We are dedicated to upholding these values in our curriculum and our approach to education. We will seek cyclic feedback from our alumni, students, and the community. We aim to create an inclusive experience for our students and the individuals and populations we serve, including those from marginalized communities and with consideration for race, gender expression, sexual orientation, nationality, neurodiversity and ability, including those with mental health challenges. We are committed to reducing racial disparities in the field and educating our students to be inclusive, antiracist clinicians and colleagues.

We strive to:

• Prepare emerging healthcare professionals to advocate for access, inclusion, equity, belongingness, pluralism, and social justice and demonstrate cultural critical consciousness.
• Collaborate with our students and community partners to provide diverse and inclusive teaching and learning practices.
• Support our students from underrepresented communities in occupational therapy, rehabilitation science, and health behavior to identify opportunities and navigate challenges as they seek to become leaders in the profession and agents of change across the health care continuum.

Read more about the OT Department Faculty Action Plan for diversity, equity, and inclusion.