Community, Equity, & Diversity Resource Statement

Our mission at the University of New England is to prepare students to thrive in a rapidly changing world and, in so doing, to improve the health of people, communities, and our planet. Everyday, we challenge our students to develop information literacy, a lens for critical thinking, and problem-solving skills to navigate the complexities of an evolving society and world. 

At the core of the University, we believe the benefits of a richly varied campus community arise from the diversity of its people. We also embrace the idea that inclusion and creating a sense of belonging for all members of our community requires us to learn about and celebrate differences in backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, underpinned by cultural humility. 

The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Library Resource Initiative (DEILRI) is an effort to provide the UNE community with resources that inform and inspire action to ensure the richly varied experiences of our students, faculty, and professional staff are affirmed, honored, and studied on all our campuses and extended learning sites. We recognize that American history and society have been framed through a majoritarian point of view, emphasizing dominant class privileges in characteristics including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, socioeconomic status, religion, sexual orientation, and ability status. We present these resources with an aim to broaden and enrich this narrative by presenting viewpoints and perspectives of those historically and traditionally underrepresented.

As a welcoming academic community in our ever-changing society, we believe in our collective responsibility to study and learn about the diverse backgrounds from which our students, faculty, and professional staff come to UNE to live, learn, and work.