SAS Plan for Faculty Diversity and Excellence

As part of its Action Plan for Faculty Diversity and Excellence, the University of Pennsylvania sets forth principles that must also shape the future of the faculty of the School of Arts and Sciences. If a great university must indeed “encompass a universe of backgrounds and experiences, ideas and ideologies, theories and perspectives,” a vibrant School of Arts and Sciences, too, by definition gains its strength from such breadth, which informs everything we do in both research and education. As a school we value and are deeply committed to diversity in all of its dimensions. Diversity embraces race, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, nationality, and age, those categories that define who we are as individuals, but it also extends to our commitments and beliefs, including religion and politics, and our work as scholars, practicing a multiplicity of different approaches to the creation and dissemination of knowledge.

As our own society is changing, the School must keep pace with that world, while it is also committed to being an agent of change, opening up new perspectives and providing the benefits of an innovative liberal arts education to a wider and ever-changing group of talented students. Because SAS is at the heart of this University, we believe we should lead the way in Penn’s overall mission to further diversify the faculty. We have the opportunity not only to make an impact on Penn’s intellectual community right now, but to help transform the academy for years to come.

View and/or download the complete SAS Plan for Faculty Diversity and Excellence in PDF format.