Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB)
As a department
We are closely engaged with teaching, research, collaboration, service, and mentoring that communicate a climate of belonging, equity, humility, representation, and respect among our diverse faculty, staff, and students. We are committed to the creation of inclusive, accessible, and safe learning spaces, contexts, and courses that welcome people across diverse cultures, races, ethnicities, abilities, genders, sexual identities, socioeconomic and political positions, religions, languages, ages, nationalities, language proficiencies, and other identity locations and value orientations. We value intersectionality and anti-racism in our pedagogies and research practices. To this end, we created courses like Gender, Race, Inclusion and Diversity in Communication, and Digital Storytelling to connect our department’s emphasis on communication and technology with our commitment to diverse racial, cultural, political, gender- and class-based social issues. Our goal as a department is to teach and encourage students to practice empathic and inclusive communication within and outside our campus communities, respect differences, and celebrate diversity in their personal and professional lives.
Our department's commitment to DEIB complements the 'core values,' 'intellectual and social inclusivity,' and 'commitment to local and global communities' of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' DEI initiatives. For additional information on DEIB initiatives and resources consult the Office of Diversity, Equity and Engagement.
In our student’s voices*
The Department of Communication at UIC is dedicated to cultivating a diverse learning community. UIC embraces and is inclusive of all backgrounds regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identification, disability, socioeconomic status, or national identity. We are committed to increasing the representation of marginalized populations and those who have lacked representation within the higher education system. UIC values enhancing critical awareness of self and others within a wide range of communication contexts. UIC has a number of resource centers dedicated to upholding diversity and advancing towards equity, belonging and inclusion. If there are any concerns or comments to further enhance the diversity at UIC please contact the Office of Diversity, Equity and Engagement at (312) 355-1308 or diversity@uic.edu
*This collaborative statement was written by students during a DEIB-statement creation workshop conducted in an undergraduate Communication class in Spring 2023. The students curated ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ information, practices and policies from various UIC-related sources and websites, including the Department of Communication, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Office of DEE and UIC Centers for Cultural Understanding and Social Change websites, among others.
In our curriculum/syllabi*
UIC values diversity and inclusion. Regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, geographic background, religion, political ideology, language, or culture, we expect all members of this class to contribute to a respectful, welcoming, and inclusive environment for every other member of our class. If there are aspects of the instruction or design of this course that result in barriers to your inclusion, engagement, accurate assessment or achievement, please notify me or your TA as soon as possible.
*This “Inclusivity Statement” has been adopted, as is, from the “Guidelines for Creating an Inclusive Syllabus” created and shared by UIC’s Center for the Advancement for Teaching Excellence [CATE] (https://uofi.app.box.com/s/ina3bry1iubtn9a0g6uucm134986o040)