Honoring the mandate issued by the Board of Trustees Task Force report Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Notre Dame: A Strategic Framework (2021), grounded in the University’s Catholic mission, and consistent with established best practices of national organizations, the Office of Institutional Transformation will help coordinate, inform, assist, support, and assess the work of campus partners to advance the following University priorities:

• Attract, recruit, and retain students, faculty, and staff who reflect the rich diversity of the human family present in a global Church, with a particular focus on historically marginalized and underrepresented groups.

• Strengthen a culture of inclusion and belonging so that all members of our community experience Notre Dame as their home.

• Enhance our reach and effectiveness, on campus and beyond, as a community engaged in transformational endeavors in service to love, focused on justice and equity.

• Work with the president and University leaders to assess and allocate resources to achieve the University’s key priorities for building a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community.

• Commit to long-term, sustainable progress and establish accountability structures through continual assessment, evaluation, and impact metrics.

Areas of campus-wide progress since the task force issued its report include:

• A more diverse incoming class profile – 34 percent multicultural, 20.5 percent Pell-eligible or first-generation, 8 percent international, 80 percent Catholic.

• Nearly 500 student participants in the Fall 2023 cohort of the Transformational Leaders Program, a scholarly initiative focused on enhancing the academic trajectories and community of some of our most promising students who have also, in some way, been historically marginalized or challenged.

• A future faculty pipeline initiative that extends the work of the Multicultural Student Programs and Services Scholars program and the Building Bridges program.

• The hiring of Keona Lewis as assistant provost for academic diversity and inclusion

• Enhanced recruitment, hiring, and retention (professional development, mentoring, advancement pathways) strategies for faculty and staff.

• The opening of the Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to provide a safe and welcoming environment where students can foster a culture of belonging, collaborate to address issues that are important to them, and enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at Notre Dame.

Throughout the year, we’ll provide additional progress reports and important updates regarding the implementation of our strategic plan and provide more information on how you can get involved.