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The University of ��ݮ��Ƶ continues to advance the 88 recommendations of the President’s Anti-Racism Taskforce (PART), reaffirming its institutional commitment to dismantling systemic racism. These recommendations serve as a long-term framework for meaningful cultural transformation.

To support this work, the Office of EDI-R tracks and coordinates over 125 initiatives aligned with the PART recommendations. Through regular updates to senior leadership and active facilitation between academic, administrative and student service units, the office plays a key role in fostering accountability and momentum across campus. As a result, the number of completed initiatives rose from 32% in 2023 to 63% in 2024.  An additional 23% of projects are currently in progress, with only 14% delayed – a significant improvement from the previous year. This collective progress underscores the University’s commitment to anti-racism as a shared responsibility embedded in all areas of institutional life.

Notable accomplishments in 2024-25 included:

Establishing a Student Ombudsperson and embedding student voice in the Academic Quality Assurance process.

Investing in the creation of diverse physical spaces and places on campus where different ways of teaching and learning can occur, including an Indigenous Gathering Space.

Developing a Holistic Admissions Process  to enable inclusive student recruitment.

Designating Safe Physical Spaces on campus that can be used by racialized students and employees as healing spaces.

Launching the Connection Collective, a mentorship program for students from marginalized communities.

The Office of EDI-R will continue to support units in closing the remaining implementation gaps with a goal of 100% completed initiatives by 2026.

As part of our “How-To” Guides series, the “How to Integrate Equity into Policies, Programs, and Initiatives” – an equity-centered policy development guide was developed to support policymakers in embedding anti-racism, anti-oppression, and equity principles into every stage of policy design and review.

This practical resource ensures that all stakeholders – including policy implementers, intended beneficiaries, and those who may be impacted – have a meaningful voice in shaping the policies that affect them. By emphasizing a collaborative and accountable approach, the guide helps decision-makers center equity in both the development and evaluation of policies, programs, and initiatives.

At the core of this guide are two complementary tools: the Consultation Guide and the Evaluation Guide.

• The Consultation Guide offers a structured framework for designing consultation plans that prioritize the voices of those most impacted. It addresses critical questions such as who should be consulted, when and how to engage them, and what to ask to ensure meaningful participation. The guide outlines inclusive strategies for identifying affected communities, including implementers, beneficiaries, and those who may experience unintended impacts, and recommends a range of methods to reduce barriers to participation. These include focus groups, surveys, formal committees, and impact assessments. Importantly, the guide also offers strategies to address power imbalances and foster safe, respectful dialogue. A curated list of additional readings and tools supports deeper learning and capacity-building.
• The Evaluation Guide equips policymakers with the tools needed to assess whether policies are achieving their goals equitably and effectively. It supports the creation of robust evaluation plans, starting with the early identification of success metrics developed in collaboration with affected communities. The guide covers the design of inclusive evaluation questions, the collection and analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data, and approaches for ensuring that assessment processes reflect community priorities. A key focus is on data equity, ensuring that communities influence what data is collected, how it is used, and how findings are interpreted. The guide also emphasizes the need for secure, disaggregated data systems that can track outcomes by race, gender, disability, sexual identities, and other relevant equity factors. Finally, it encourages reflective practice, engaging stakeholders in reviewing findings to identify ways to sustain positive impacts, close equity gaps, and reduce unintended harm.

By offering clear, actionable guidance, How to Integrate Equity into Policies, Programs, and Initiatives represents a significant step toward institutional transformation at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ.

The first Trans and Non-Binary Equity Strategy for the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ was released in Spring 2025. This campus-wide initiative is rooted in the University’s commitment to identifying and addressing the needs, gaps, and concerns impacting the safety, inclusion and well-being of 2SLGBTQIA+ students, staff, and faculty, and in particular, those who identify as Two-Spirit, Trans, Non-Binary, and Gender Non-Conforming (2STNBGNC+).

This strategy was developed through the 2STNBGNC+ Community Gathering and Sharing Project, a collaborative effort to better understand community experiences and co-create solutions. A total of 166 community members contributed feedback via 22 group consultations, 5 stakeholder interviews with key service providers, and an anonymous online survey. A follow-up consultation session was hosted in February 2025 to present preliminary findings and further engage the community in refining the strategy’s direction.

This work was conducted in recognition that, although gender identity and gender expression are protected under the , gender and sexual minorities on campus continue to face disproportionate levels of discrimination, psychological distress, and exclusion. Key concerns voiced by participants included:

Physical, psychological, and emotional safety

Gender-based and identity-based harassment and violence

Discomfort sharing personal identity-based information

Limited access to gender-affirming medical care

Isolation and lack of community integration

Inadequate campus-wide education and training

Perceived lack of transparency and trust in leadership

Reputational risks due to inaction or harm

These concerns were further underscored by the tragic, hate-motivated attack on June 28, 2023, an event which reinforced the urgency of creating systemic change to safeguard the rights and wellbeing of 2STNBGNC+ communities on campus.

In response, the strategy includes 28 University-wide recommendations across six key areas:

Safety

Medical wellbeing and access to gender-affirming care

Social wellbeing and sense of belonging

Recognition and support for 2STNBGNC+ identities

Education, training, and awareness

2SLGBTQIA+ community development and sustainability

As the strategy moves into its implementation phase, the Office of EDI-R is collaborating with partners across campus to develop a robust action plan with clear timelines, assigned responsibilities, and accountability mechanisms. The Office will continue to lead efforts to ensure that these recommendations are transformed into meaningful, measurable outcomes that advance equity and inclusion at ��ݮ��Ƶ.

View the full Trans and Non-Binary Equity Strategy here.

As part of the Equity Data as a Strategic Resource (DSR) initiative, the Office of EDI-R has made significant strides toward embedding equity-focused data analysis into institutional decision-making. Launched in partnership with Institutional Analysis and Planning (IAP), Human Resources, Indigenous Relations, and AccessAbility Services, the DSR project is developing a secure, centralized data repository that will enable equity-related trends to be tracked across the employee and student experience. The first phase is focused on the Employee Life Cycle Model.

In 2024-25, development focused on collecting and integrating data related to hiring, retention, promotion, and workplace climate. This data will support more robust analysis of outcomes across the intersections of race, gender, disability, and other identity markers.

Looking ahead, the next phase of the DSR initiative will expand to the ��ݮ��Ƶ Cycle Model. This will involve collecting and analyzing data on student recruitment, retention, engagement, and graduation outcomes. By building a comprehensive understanding of the barriers that shape both employee and student trajectories, the University is positioned to design more targeted, data-informed interventions. The Office of EDI-R will continue to collaborate with campus units to ensure ethical data stewardship, privacy, and transparency, while also providing guidance on how to interpret and act on equity data.