Mission Statement
The Office of Equity, Social Justice and Multicultural Education promotes — through programs and services — an academic, cultural and social environment that provides equity, social justice and academic success for all members of the De Anza College campus community. It supports the district and college missions, which consider diversity an essential component of student education in the 21st century. The Equity Office takes this charge seriously. We have expanded our mission of fostering a climate of healthy diversity that values individual and group differences and respects the perspectives of others by working to eliminate institutional oppression or barriers that perpetuate inequity, injustice, and mono-cultural education.
History
The Office of Equity, Social Justice and Multicultural Education (formerly the Office of Diversity) first opened its doors at De Anza in 1989, primarily to ensure affirmative action and equal opportunity in hiring faculty and staff. Since then, the college has expanded its services to include faculty and student equity.
Today, thanks to the tireless commitment and efforts of many, the Office of Equity, Social Justice and Multicultural Education provides guidance and leadership in developing and maintaining an environment that upholds De Anza’s value of inclusion while seeking to address those obstacles that hamper student success as well as faculty and staff excellence.
This work includes deepening our acceptance and understanding of the rich cultural and ethnic diversity groups, including racial, gender, LGBTQQI, religious, differently abled, and economic and political affinity groups, to name a few that are representative of the students, faculty and staff at De Anza College.
What We Do
We believe that all who work and study at De Anza College are committed to the shared goal of creating a quality experience for every student.
In part, determining if a student has had, or is having, a quality learning experience is measured by student access and achievement. Thus, using the philosophy and approach of social justice and multicultural education we determine student equity through rigorous ongoing accountable processes that will work toward ensuring equity in all measurements of student access and achievement across lines of gender, racial identity, ethnicity and disability. Specifically, the college must increase transfer rates and degree and certificate awards, improve access, course completion, course retention and persistence, and, importantly, equalize student success rates by gender, race, ethnicity and disability.
In addition, securing an equitable learning experience, as well as measurable student access and achievement outcomes is met by the goal of creating a fully inclusive community. Thus, to this end, the Equity Office works to enhance the ability of faculty, classified professionals and administrators to support and guide in culturally responsive ways each other and the students we serve.
More information about student equity is available in De Anza 2005: Pathways to Student Equity: Achieving the Goals of the Educational Master Plan.