University of Phoenix is excited to celebrate Pride Month this June in a continued show of support for the LGBTQ community. After achieving a perfect score on the 2021 Corporate Equality Index by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and being named a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality, University of Phoenix is emboldened to continue its work to promote diversity wherever possible. Learn more about the initiatives the University has already taken to ensure inclusion across the spectrum.
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Inclusion at the Core of the University
University of Phoenix was created for non-traditional students from the very beginning. Most college students are brought on campus and immersed in an experience that often shuts out much of the real world. Learners with children, aging parents or few financial resources find that a formal education is often out of the realm of possibility.
However, University of Phoenix did not want to shut anyone out and instead built a curriculum around the busy lives of its students. Faculty and staff are all about giving people a fair chance to go after their goals. You can see how, decades later, the University still espouses the same core value of inclusion.
Diversity on Campus: What It Means to University of Phoenix
Promotion of diversity is evident at University of Phoenix in both faculty and student life. The University strives to ensure that inclusion occurs across all disciplines and business divisions.
Employee Resource Groups
Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are voluntary groups led by employees and designed to foster an inclusive workplace. Staff can talk to and learn from each other about how to grow in a personal and professional capacity. There are five ERGs currently: Allies of Pride, African American Council of Excellence, Veterans, Hispanic and Phoenix Women Rising.
Each group discusses any number of issues vital to the communities they represent. Topics can include anything from sharing personal anecdotes to brainstorming how injustice can be ended on a global level. As employees come together, they are encouraging everyone to see people for who they are.
Webinar Series for Diversity
University of Phoenix also presents a webinar series about diversity with sessions including “Where’s My Privilege” Future challenges for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion and Storytelling as an Anti-Racist Tool to Create Community. This is a chance for people to delve into topics that may have been largely ignored before.
There are plenty of people who may assume they have little or nothing to do with systemic injustice, but the truth is that discrimination is more pervasive and common than people sometimes realize. This webinar series makes it possible to explore this and learn more in a safe setting.
The Inclusive Cafe
The University’s Office of Educational Equity created The Inclusive Cafe in June 2020 as a place where staff could meet in biweekly virtual sessions to discuss how diversity measures are impacting them, their students and their community. Participants can share their perspectives and have compassionate conversations with one another.
During the pandemic, many might be tempted to set these topics aside or let them play out on a larger scale in the news. Instead, University of Phoenix wanted to give people a place to come together and explore their feelings in a more constructive setting.
Partnerships with the University
The Office of Educational Equity is active in the ways University of Phoenix collaborates with the community. Staff take the initiative to create alliances with groups who honor the University’s ideals. To that end, University of Phoenix has collaborated with Diversity Leadership Alliance, a premier organization in Arizona to promote diversity in education. The University has also collaborated with the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
By acknowledging, welcoming and supporting a variety of groups in the area, the University hopes to expand its influence well outside its border. In addition to teaching students and staff to understand their role in social justice, the University is taking an active role in a variety of community initiatives.
In 2019, University of Phoenix took part in the Annual Arizona Multicultural Education Conference, and in 2021, it sponsored the virtual event. The Office of Educational Equity also designed and administered the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion survey in 2020 to understand better how students perceived their time in the classroom. All data collected was used to help the University understand where and how it could adjust its policies and practices to ensure that all students were given equal footing at the school.
About University of Phoenix
University of Phoenix offers an array of educational opportunities to students. By championing flexible courses, the University strives to create opportunities for people from all backgrounds. Democratizing higher learning has always been a priority for University of Phoenix, which continues to promote diversity in both online and in-person class settings. To understand more about the University’s values and initiatives, visit www.phoenix.edu.
