To Chief Diversity Office Memorandum

To: Chief Diversity Office

From: Higher Education Consultant

Date: 19th March 2019

Subject: Institutional-wide diversity and inclusion strategic plans

Part 1:

1. Harvard University

Harvard University is evidently a diverse institution that valued diversity and inclusion. At Harvard, the administrators, faculty, staff, and students representing various races, interests, ages, and backgrounds come to pursue their common goals (Harvard.edu, 2019). Harvard works towards providing an environment that promotes inclusiveness of culture and racial diversity. The assistant to the Harvard University President has an office whose mission is to deliver a sustained and wholesome effort towards the development, advancement, and coordination of inclusive excellence, equal opportunity, and diversity (Harvard.edu, 2019). At Harvard employees get equal opportunity notwithstanding their race or gender. Labor organizations, employment agencies, educational institutions, local governments, and private employers’ applicants and employees get protection against discrimination from federal laws.

The mission of the office of the Harvard University’s assistant president is to deliver sustained equality and diversity initiatives, policies, and programs to the university (Harvard University, 2019). The H-OAP (Harvard-Office of Assistant President) collaborates with the president’s office, the students, vice president, deans, staff, faculty, departments, and units across the schools and divisions to achieve this mission (Harvard University, 2019). The objective of the efforts is to develop an understanding around the campus about the importance, complexity, and centrality of inclusiveness in the administrative and academic endeavors. Secondly, the H-OAP fosters understanding about the diverse working and learning environment and assigns meaning to the significance and meaning of equity outreach and equal opportunity efforts (Harvard University, 2019).

Harvard University staff, students, administrators, visitors, faculty, and alumni represent people from highly heterogeneous, and interconnected global communities with wide ranging and unique abilities, interests, competencies, and experiences. H-OAP works to support and apportion value to the idiosyncratic talents and contributions of the community members (Harvard University, 2019). The strategic plan, reports, leadership initiatives, advising, training, outreach, programmatic efforts, and talent management plans are characterized by the emerging and historic research and scholarship, and the local equal opportunity and federal categories and guidelines (Harvard University, 2019). The H-OAP believes in the affirmative action and compliance with AA/EEO laws, procedures and policies. The charter on affirmative action defines the responsibilities, role, and authority of H-AOP office.

Harvard has become the home for academic personnel, faculty, staff, and students from various circumstances, identities, places, and backgrounds (Harvard University, 2016). The institution through the task force on belonging and inclusion brought various perspectives, passions, and commitments. Excellence and justice makes it necessary to build the institution’s efforts around belonging and inclusion. The university has achieved excellence through fostering of discovery, creativity, and learning. This is why Harvard ought to be seen as an inclusive society supporting the success of everyone through integration of every single person into the academic, professional, and social life.

Diversity and inclusion have been presented as an integral component that defines the Harvard University community through the H-OAP office. Harvard has earned global recognition due to its fair admission criteria and an honest attempt at ensuring this objective is met. Over and above upholding diversity and inclusion at the human resource and employee level influential institutional positions are subject to the same principles. This has indeed made Harvard a signature world-class institution.

2. Oxford University

The mission of this institution is to advance learning through research, teaching and dissemination by any means (University of Oxford, 2018). The vision is to work as a unit and unite the students, alumni, colleges, students, divisions and faculties in order to deliver world class education and research (University of Oxford, 2018). This is achieved through means that offer support to the local, national, global, and regional societies. On inclusion and diversity Oxford university believes that people form the foundation of the successes of the university and the research, academic, and professional quality (University of Oxford, 2018). The support staff forms a critical constituency of the future of the university. According to the University to remain a global teaching and research institution Oxford must continuously recruit, attract and support individuals with talent and offer an inclusive, diverse, open and fair environment that makes it possible for flourishing and growth (University of Oxford, 2018).

The processes and policies espoused by the University’s human resources offer a framework for faculties and departments to provide assistance to students and to provide answers to the external environment that is continuously changing (University of Oxford, 2018). Oxford University gives people priority by embedding an inclusive and supportive culture (University of Oxford, 2018). The diversity of the university staff is achieved through the action plan which includes the race equity charter, Athena SWAN, Mindful Employer, and Equality Index known as Stonewall Workplace (University of…