Diversity Initiatives Committee

Meet the Chairs: Carrie Filipetti, Salma Nabi, and Alissa Morein

Meeting Time: TBD

The Diversity Initiatives Committee is responsible for promoting initiatives to improve the diversity of the University, and bringing issues pertaining to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and religion to the attention of the University.

Recent News & Updates:

• Love Out Loud
• Disabilities Awareness Week
• Finding Off-Grounds Accessible Housing

Past Committee initiatives include:

• Non-Discrimination: The committee would like to see the non-discrimination policy changed to reaffirm protections for “sexual orientation” and expand the policy to include “gender identity.” The committee helped research policies of the top 50 ranked schools. The committee also has endorsed Resolution SR 10-02 which was unanimously approved by Student Council.
• Handicap-Housing: The committee has secured a $2,000 joint donation from the Office of the Dean of Students, Wade Apartments, Woodard Properties, and Grandmarc at the Corner for a fund from which students with disabilities may draw to make necessary modifications to their off-grounds apartments. The committee has also created a print database of off-grounds handicap-accessible apartments and is finalizing an online version.
• Slavery Memorial: The committee has successfully passed a resolution through student council articulating support for the construction of a new, more appropriate and prominent slavery memorial. The committee completed a survey of nearly 1,000 students which indicated the need for more education about the history of slavery at UVA. A very moving and well attended forum was held on April 5th that shared expert historical research by University professors.