One of the hallmarks of a great university is its genuine commitment to excellence in research, teaching, and service to the community. Salem State University’s commitment to Inclusive Excellence is a commitment to conceptualize inclusiveness and excellence as one and the same, make inclusiveness ubiquitous, assign responsibility for inclusiveness to everyone on campus, and utilize a broad definition of inclusiveness. Salem State University commits to hold justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion as values and practices that are embedded into the heart and soul of the institution.
Inclusive Excellence employs a broad and inclusive definition of diversity that includes (but is not limited to) disability, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, social class, language, age, religion, race, ethnicity, nationality, veteran status, and other important social dimensions that are part of the campus community. Linked to justice, equity, and inclusion, diversity becomes far more than a numerical goal of diverse constituents. Our focus is the continuous transformation of the university into a vibrant community that embeds diversity and inclusiveness throughout the institution, including (but not limited to) demographics (numbers), curriculum, policies, enrollment, pedagogy, financial resources, diverse student learning outcomes, leadership, training, retention, student learning, marketing, technology, teaching, student advising, campus climate communications, administration, recruitment, hiring and promotion and tenure, assessment, institutional advancement, and evaluation.
