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On Friday 25 September 2020, we shared AUC’s Framework and Action Plan for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with the AUC community. This Framework and Action Plan outlines the importance of diversity at AUC and the targeted measures we are taking to make AUC an inclusive community. It is the result of work conducted following the 11 June 2020 commitments made by AUC’s Management. On that day, AUC’s Management acknowledged the prevalence of institutional racism in our society and committed to a new approach.

Summary of AUC's Framework and Action Plan for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

This statement was followed by focus groups where students and staff participated, and conversations with the Student Council, Works Council, and Board of Studies. This summer, the Diversity Leadership Group was formed to convert our commitment into action. The group, consisting of the Dean and members of AUC management, examined VU and UvA policies, reports, and recommendations. We collected past, ongoing, and planned AUC initiatives related to diversity, inclusion, and equity. Furthermore, we gathered staff and student feedback expressed during focus group discussions and in correspondence. In a next step, we sought input from critical friends, including the Chief Diversity Officers of both UVA and VU, liaised with co-governance bodies, colleagues and external partners with relevant professional expertise. AUC’s Framework and Action Plan for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is the result.

The Framework and Action Plan combine to provide a living document, an invitation to the community to remain involved, and will evolve and adapt over time in response to our continuing conversations and reflections. At the same time, the plan also serves as a tool for increased transparency and accountability for the commitments we have made, by introducing concrete milestones, actions and a regular reporting mechanism.

The main elements of AUC’s Framework and Action Plan

The Framework and Action Plan start with our framework for diversity, in which we define what diversity means to AUC, and establish the principles that guide our growth as a diverse, inclusive, and equitable community. We then move to the action plan, with a focus on four pillars and enabling structures.