Office of Equity and Inclusion become facilitators of change on campus

Photo provided by — Elmhurst University

Elmhurst University’s Office of Equity and Inclusion reflects on the changing demographics of the EU student and continuing to be facilitators for change as the campus continues to evolve. 

Vincent Cascio, the Associate Director for Student Equity and Inclusion, believes that department collaborations are important and will lead to the success of accomplishing goals.

“Bruce [King] and I being still relatively newer here, we are really working on creating those inter-department collaborations. They’ve become way more receptive than before, and I think enforcing and continuing those collaborations are going to be really important to our own progress, whether it’s with the office of equity and inclusion or with the HSI grant,” said Cascio. 

Cascio continued, “We continue to facilitate those collaborations across with administrators, faculty, [and] staff. Everyone has a role to play here. That’s one of the most exciting parts to see how we can all come together and contribute to this huge goal.” 

Earlier this year, EU was designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), which allowed for more scholarship opportunities and high impact programs, such as study abroad, paid internships, and summer research. 

Karina Rivea, the new DHSI Project Director, will also oversee the implementation of the HSI grant and make sure that the goals are being met. 

“I see myself as kind of a champion of the grant,” said Rivera. “I want to make sure that the campus is excited about the grant, that they know what’s in the grant, [and] that we are all kind of working collectively to meet some of the goals and objectives.” 

Rivera also wants students to realize that the HSI grant serves the campus as a whole. 

“I think with this HSI grant, it’s really easy to just say ‘oh well it’s just for Hispanic students’ and language is also always evolving, so there are many students who don’t identify as hispanic, but identify as latino or latina, so I think that it’s important to understand that this grant it’s for the entire institution,” said Rivera. 

She continued, “It really is going to benefit and help our institution as a whole, it’s not just going to be for one population of students. It’s also important to think about why it is we have an HSI grant. Our student population is changing and it’s important for us to serve the student population that we have here…it really is a benefit to us all.” 

Bruce King, Vice President for Equity and Inclusion, wants students to understand that the office is for everyone and not solely for one population of students, it’s for everyone. 

“I want people to understand that the office of equity and inclusion is not about the office for them, it’s the office for us, and that equity and inclusion have no race, gender, or sexual orientation,” said King.

“If you’re a student here in this community, we want you to thrive fully and have complete access. If we just narrow it down to black and white, we’ve lost the whole meaning of this opportunity.”