LEARNING COMMUNITY
Program. In 1997, the University Diversity Committee (UDC) was first convened. Comprised of faculty, staff and students, UDC “serves to monitor and enhance the overall progress of the university in carrying out the PLU 2010 commitment ‘to develop a more diverse community of students and employees,’ including the diversity of students and personnel as well as continued development of an inclusive, affirming and non-discriminatory environment” (Faculty Handbook, p. 46). The university’s commitment to living as a just community derives from our commitment to the interconnectedness of care for people, their communities and the earth. University policies and practices are designed to be fundamentally fair and equitable and to demonstrate care for all campus members. Educational commitments to freedom of dialogue, identity development, equity, inclusion, stewardship and access for all people are key aspects of justice and are fundamental aspects of the university. Developing in all students an understanding of and commitment to the Lutheran concept of vocation is increasingly meaningful insofar as it involves a commitment to the welfare of others. In keeping with that aspiration we have dedicated ourselves to nurturing a commitment to justice in the multiple
The university’s commitment to living as a just community derives from our commitment to the interconnectedness of care for people, their communities and the earth.
communities in which we live. Issues of privilege, oppression, hunger, poverty, civil rights, gender equity and legal rights are among the important curricular and co-curricular topics that are essential components of a student’s education at PLU. During the past ten years, several accomplishments in fulfillment of our commitment to justice are particularly noteworthy. The Women’s Center has received national recognition for their success in securing multiple Department of Justice grants to address sexual violence, intimate partner violence and stalking. The Diversity Center educates hundreds of students each year on issues of justice through its programs such as the Privilege Series and the Tunnel of Oppression. Campus Ministry works with the student Interfaith Council ensuring that all voices of faith are welcome on campus. In 2003-2004, the university undertook a major gender equity study for faculty, staff and students and took action based on the results. Our commitment to global education, both on and off campus, challenges students to immerse themselves in other cultures and grapple with complex world issues of peace and justice regardless of their academic discipline. The university’s student-run Community Garden brings students, faculty, staff and our neighbors together, and each year we grow more than a ton of food for a local food bank. Service learning courses and alternative service Spring Break trips (e.g. service to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, restoration work at Holden Village, and a study of the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama and Georgia) challenge students to put their education into action for the creation and sustenance of just communities.
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