Diversity and Inclusion

A Warm Welcome

It is my pleasure to welcome you to our vibrant, diverse and radically welcoming community here at Elmhurst university. While a simple welcome seems woefully inadequate, we hope you will soon feel the warm embrace of a campus committed to supporting your journey to personal and professional attainment of whatever goals you have for your future. As you enter through our gates of knowledge, know that you have found a place where you belong and where every possibility is waiting for your arrival.

Our mission in the office of equity and inclusion is to fully embrace who you are today and the person you choose to become as a result of your Bluejay experience in the future. You have arrived during an exciting time in the history of the university where we are renewing our commitments to nurturing a diverse, inclusive, and accessible learning environment where who you are is as important as what you will be learning in our classrooms, laboratories and athletic fields. For more than 150 years, we have been proudly building an institution that welcomes the immigrant, widens the circle for inclusion and equity, and enlarges the foundations of meaning through our connections with the United Church of Christ, our global partners and world-wide network of alumni and friends of the University. We want to thank you in advance for assisting us in expanding are ideas about who we are, what we are to become and how together, we will shape the next century of progress for Elmhurst University.

Whether you are here to browse the possibility, begin the process of discernment, or affirm the wise choices you have made as a Bluejay, know that wherever the world takes you next, there is a place where you belong here at Elmhurst University.

Welcome to our home,

Bruce King, Vice president for Equity and Inclusion

Visit the Office of Equity and Inclusion

Open and Welcoming

Vice President of Equity and Inclusion, Bruce King.

Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI)

hsi logo

Elmhurst University is a designated Hispanic-Serving Institution, or HSI as of January 2022. This designation opens the door to provide our Hispanic, Latinx and underrepresented students with a successful Elmhurst experience. Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) are defined in Title V of the Higher Education Act as not-for-profit institutions of higher learning with a full-time equivalent (FTE) undergraduate student enrollment that is at least 25 percent Hispanic.

Guide to HSI

United Church of Christ

Elmhurst is affiliated with the United Church of Christ, the first mainstream American church to ordain an African American pastor, a woman, and an openly gay man, The Reverend Dr. William R. Johnson ’68. In the spirit of the UCC’s commitment to social justice and inclusivity, the University is open and welcoming to all.

Support and Resources

Student-Led Groups

Student organizations such as the Black Student Union, HABLAMOS, Asian Club of Elmhurst and Queer Straight Alliance promote understanding, awareness and inclusion. These groups are open to students from all backgrounds.

Events

Elmhurst celebrates campus diversity with a variety of events that spark conversation and raise awareness. Student-run activities include the Big Queer Gathering and National Coming Out Day, while our annual religious lecture series provides a forum for scholars representing a variety of religious traditions.

Academic Programs

The major in intercultural studies (ICS) encourages students to examine cultures, power, privilege and cross-cultural interactions. You can focus your ICS coursework in an area of particular interest, including African American studies, Latin American studies and LGBTQ studies.

We are committed to cultural diversity, mutual respect among all persons, compassion for others, honest and open communication, and fairness and integrity in all that we do.

Elmhurst University Core Values

Bruce King

Vice President for Equity and Inclusion
Office of Equity and Inclusion

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