About us

University of Waterloo entrance towards the Tathum Centre

A message from the AVP Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Anti-Racism

Welcome to the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (EDI-R), a space built on the energy, time, and advocacy of many community members from the University of Waterloo.  My role as the AVP of EDI-R is to ensure that we, as a team, work with others in the University to lead transformative culture change, disrupt oppressive systems, dismantle institutional barriers, and embed anti-racism and equity in policies, processes, environments, and experiences on campus.

I am proud to achieve this vision with a team of subject matter experts with knowledge on equity, anti-racism, oppression, and settler colonialism. They understand how these factors manifest in colonial and primarily white Canadian university systems, have experience interrupting these systems, and believe in the work they do.

As an office, our immediate goals for the next two years are based on the 2022-2025 Strategic Plan:

Goal 1: Lead and facilitate culture change

Goal 2: Ensure EDI-R leadership is centralized, accessible and accountable

Goal 3: Increase the sustainability of the EDI-R Unit on and off campus

We will continue to evolve in ways that best support members of our communities and turn to you as co-creators in this work to build, incubate, and enhance equity and anti-racism competency and capacity across campus.

I invite you to explore this website to learn about the initiatives our units are working on and look forward to connecting with you, in-person or virtually. 

Dr. Christopher Taylor (he/him)
AVP Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Anti-racism

Dr. Christopher Taylor

Vision

Disrupt systemic oppression and lead a transformative culture change in which equity and anti-racism are fully embodied at the University of Waterloo.

Mission

Build, incubate and enhance Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (EDI-R) competency and capacity across campus to identify and interrupt institutional barriers and embed equity within policies, processes, environments and experiences at the University of Waterloo.

Guiding principles

  • Collective Impact 
  • Targeted Universalism 
  • Sankofa 
  • Inclusive Leadership 
  • Intersectionality 
  • Systems focus 
  • Restorative Justice
  • Transformative Justice
  • Evidence-based decision making
  • Universal design
  • Anti-Oppressive Practice