Last August, the University engaged a team of external experts to start a formal review of the Office of Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion at Waterloo. We are pleased to share that we have received the review team’s final report and we are moving ahead with plans to implement their recommendations.
We are extremely grateful to the review team for their comprehensive consultations, generous time and thoughtful recommendations that will help us strengthen our approach to supports for Indigenous reconciliation, anti-racism, equity, diversity, and inclusion here at Waterloo.
Our response to this review will begin with significant investment and a realignment of our structure, resources and mandates to ensure that the work of Indigenous reconciliation, anti-racism, equity, diversity, and inclusion here clearly serves the needs of our students, faculty, staff and community. To be clear, the responses we are announcing today come as we continue to commit to the important work of consultation and engagement across our campus and beyond.
Creating new organizations with a mandate to influence our institution
To start, we are acting on recommendations from the review team to create two new organizational units led by Associate Vice-Presidents (AVPs) that will report to the Vice-President, Academic & Provost.
The Office of Indigenous Relations will be led by Jean Becker, who will take on the new title of AVP, Indigenous Relations. For the last year, Becker has acted as the Interim Associate Vice-President of Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion. We are both extremely grateful to Jean for taking on this role so soon after joining the University in 2020.
Given the enormous importance and urgency in progressing our work to reconcile with the Indigenous peoples of our community and decolonize our university, we are fortunate to work with Jean and her team to understand and implement the substantive recommendations contained in the reports of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. We also agree with the review panel’s remarks on the importance of the Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre at St. Paul’s University College and look forward to strengthening our relationship with them under Jean’s guidance.
Recognizing that we must also create a clear focus on anti-racism, the new Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and anti-Racismwill be led by Dr. Christopher Taylor. We are pleased to appoint Dr. Taylor to the role of AVP, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and anti-Racism as a faculty term appointment ensuring that he can continue his scholarship when his term ends.
Dr. Taylor’s team will include the Equity Office as well as the new Senior Manager, Anti-Racism Response. We know that anti-Black racism, colonization and all other forms of racism, are ongoing and impact people on our campus directly. Amongst other things, this new unit will have a renewed focus on serving our community by directing our equity, diversity, and inclusion strategy and focusing initially on anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism.
Both AVPs and their teams will fulfil mandates to influence academic planning, strategic planning and decision-making at all levels of the University. We have committed additional resources over the last year into these areas and we look forward to working with the AVPs on further recommendations for resources in the future. The AVPs will engage and consult with the community in the further implementation of the HREI review recommendations. We are committed to reporting regularly to the community on the comprehensive resource commitments to the work associated with the entire portfolio.
You can expect further information on the Sexual Violence Prevention & Response Office and the Conflict Management & Human Rights Office in the near future as further discussions and processes occur. In the meantime, these units will continue to report to Jean Becker.
Leadership commitment
Among the recommendations in the review are points on how we as leaders of the institution can champion our efforts for equity and inclusion. We know we must take up the responsibility to strengthen our strategic focus on equity, diversity, inclusion, representation, Indigenous reconciliation and anti-racism. And we will.
In our strategic plan, we made a clear commitment to strengthen sustainable and diverse communities. We said that “Waterloo will make an impact on its campuses and around the world by fostering inclusivity, a sense of belonging and a culture of involvement.”
Beyond that foundational underpinning of the strategic plan, we have made progress over the last year to support actions recommended by the Black Faculty Collective, the community collaborative members of the President’s Anti-Racism Taskforce (PART) and many others that are helping us advance a variety of issues. These include our Indigenous strategic plan process; cluster-hiring initiatives for Indigenous and Black scholars; new roles addressing anti-racism in a variety of units; joining the National Centre for Faculty Development and Diversity; and our signing on to the Scarborough National Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion in Canadian Higher Education.
In fact, our community has created an incredible amount of change in the last year that we appreciate and must build upon.
Our mission as leaders is clear: We will work together with the vice-presidents, deans, and AVPs for Indigenous Relations and Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and anti-Racism to clearly articulate a shared vision for our work in this space and to embed measurable performance objectives into the annual integrated plans that flow from the strategic plan and the work of our teams.
The changes we are implementing because of this review are not the start, nor are they the end of our journey at Waterloo to create change. We have a long way to go, but we are committed to doing the work that will make our University a people-centered institution committed to genuine care, concern, respect, inclusivity and well-being for all. A place where we all belong.