- d
The Board of Regents of the University of Washington hereby reaffirms the University’s long-standing commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging on its campuses. This commitment was first enunciated by the Board at its meeting on June 13, 1975, was reasserted at its meeting on February 9, 1979, and then again at its meeting on January 16, 1998.
Now, as on earlier occasions, the Regents recognize the important place the University of Washington occupies as Washington’s largest institution of higher education and as one of the world’s leading public research universities. At the University of Washington, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are integral to excellence. We value and honor diverse experiences and perspectives, strive to create welcoming and respectful learning environments, and promote access and opportunity.
The state of Washington has a compelling interest in making sure that the University is accessible to talented students, faculty, and staff from all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. The knowledge that the University of Washington is open to qualified students, faculty members, and staff from all groups, and thus serves all parts of the community equitably, helps to sustain the social fabric of the state.
University of Washington students, and the society they will serve and help to lead, require the very best education this institution can provide. Among the educational resources the University has to offer are a diverse student body, a diverse faculty, and a diverse staff. With the guidance and support of members of the faculty and the staff, students educate each other in the classroom and in many informal settings: they challenge one another’s assumptions, they broaden one another’s range of experience, and they teach one another to see the world from varied perspectives. The University values diversity of every kind and particularly seeks to identify and remove structural and procedural barriers that may unnecessarily limit access to the recruitment and the retention of talented students, faculty and academic personnel, and staff through lawful means.
We therefore direct the President, the University administration, and the faculty to continue to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging on the University of Washington’s campuses, in all ways consistent with the laws of the state of Washington and the federal government.
All admissions, employment, and related institutional decisions shall continue to be made in accordance with applicable law, without prohibited preferences, and based on qualifications, merit, and lawful job- or program-related criteria.
BR, January 16, 1998; September 13, 2018; [formerly numbered Regent Policy No. 11] July 11, 2019; September 10, 2026.
For related information, see: