Shaping the Approach
The U of A is committed to cultivating an institutional culture that values, supports, and promotes equity, human rights, respect and accountability among all members of our university communities. As part of this, we are planning how to make equity integral to our working and learning culture by shifting from EDI as 'in addition to,' to EDI as 'what we do.’ We invite your input to help achieve this.
Action Plan Launch Event
The unveiling of the Changing the Story Integrated Action Plan is near and we want you to be part of it!
Join us with Verna Yiu, Provost and Vice-President Academic and Carrie Smith, Vice-Provost of Access, Community and Belonging as we celebrate this monumental step towards a more interconnected university.
Discover how we're expanding frameworks, breaking barriers, and building a vibrant future together.
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025
Program: 12 - 1 p.m.
Location: Students' Union Building (Atrium)
8900 - 114 st NW, Edmonton AB
This event will be hybrid. RSVP to attend in-person by Feb. 5, 2025 . Limited seating available. Details to attend virtually coming soon.
Changing the Story - Draft Integrated Action Plan
How do we continue to build a vibrant, equitable, and interconnected university together? This incredible undertaking requires that we tell a different and transformative story. We must create new narratives, identify new patterns, and enact practices that center mutuality, reciprocity, and responsibility. We must transform the work of EDI - together.
As part of this work, the EDI Plan Steering Committee has released a draft of the Integrated Action Plan for consultation, to get feedback on the multi-dimensional model that has been developed from the extensive input gathered from the university community. This Action Plan hopes to inspire community members to join us in our pursuit of co-creating a better future for all.
See draft of the Integrated Action Plan
Continuing Our Stories – What we heard
The consultation phase with the broader university community began in November 2023. The approach took on an organic format and tapped into relations and connections to encourage open dialogue, trust and meaningful participation. EDI Leads played a pivotal role in facilitating conversations in the form of one-on-one discussions as well as in small group settings for undergraduate and graduate students, faculty members and staff across different units and administrative service portfolios on campus. Formal engagements that involved structured conversations with established governance bodies as well as key advisory councils within the university were designed to harness the collective expertise and perspectives of these groups, providing a strategic dimension to the feedback.
In March and April, the engagements shifted to focused working sessions, which allowed us to connect with faculty, staff and students in exploring possible answers to big questions and imagining practical paths forward in making equity, diversity and inclusion an integrated part of what we do at the U of A. The moments of connection and storytelling emphasized a relevant community-driven approach to transforming our university through a shared endeavor.
We are now pleased to share with you “Continuing Our Stories,” which captures what we heard in those conversations.