Mission Statement

As engineers, computer, and data scientists, we must rethink our role in society and how we contribute and combat larger injustices. Indeed, developing competent members of the engineering community will require more than just technical skills.¹ As engineers, we do not develop or use technologies separate from the cultural and implicit biases surrounding us—nor do we develop technologies free from our own implicit biases. ¹ Thus, we must be able to understand and address the complex social injustices and challenges that face our society and influence the problems we solve.

To address these issues, the University of Arkansas’s College of Engineering is committed to developing and fostering an environment that emulates our core values of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI). Diversity and inclusion among our students, staff, and faculty create a thriving academic environment where varying perspectives are valued and respected. Further, we believe that justice and equity are needed to dismantle the systemic injustices that reproduce disparities in who and what type of engineering education and experience some have.

Given that JEDI approaches are focused on addressing how individual, relational, community, and societal barriers contribute to discrimination and oppression, we are emulating this approach and creating JEDI initiatives that address these different systematic barriers within engineering. Review our JEDI plan. We hope that in the coming years, the results of the JEDI plan have community members engaging in courageous and honest conversations about the systematic barriers preventing some, but not all, from achieving their full potential and what each of us can do to address these barriers.²

¹Gallimore,2021, ²Wilson-Kennedy et al., 2020

Vision

By developing and implementing a holistic JEDI approach, we aim to create a community of belonging and lifelong learners who identify, challenge, and redress power imbalances within engineering. Moreover, we want our impact to extend beyond classrooms, research, and the campus community to create more significant cultural changes within the field and society.

Defining JEDI

Justice: Dismantling institutional and structural barriers to resources and opportunities in society, especially in engineering, so that individuals and communities can live a dignified and full life. Within justice, we acknowledge that different systems of power and privilege have existed for years. Our responsibility as educators and leaders is to address the context of systematic oppression in our teachings, research activities, and daily interactions.

Equity: A guarantee of fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all individuals while identifying and eliminating barriers that prevent the full participation of different groups. Within equity, we acknowledge that society has historically underserved and underrepresented certain groups. Thus, a system that addresses these historical imbalances is needed to achieve equity.

Diversity: Diversity can mean different things to different individuals. We define diversity as differences determining which barriers and advantages we encounter in our experiences. Diversity can include, but is not limited to, the following elements of a person:

Inclusion: Establishing and fostering environments where diverse individuals or groups can feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued in bringing their whole, authentic selves to school or work. Within inclusion, we aim to develop a welcoming climate that embraces each person’s unique perspective, embodies feelings of belonging, and offers respect in the words and actions of those around us.

JEDI definitions are informed from the following sources: US Climate Network, Public Lands Alliance, The Arvana Group, MBARI, and D5 Coalition.