Following the publication of Willamette University’s 2023 Climate Survey Report, the University Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee established a subcommittee to identify key areas to continue the climate conversation with our community. The subcommittee initiated a series of student listening sessions at both the Salem and PNCA campuses to further explore trends and gather insights for ways to improve the institution’s overall climate.
During these listening sessions, which included spaces for students of color and multiracial students, and the expression of political and religious views on campus, students talked about the significance of feeling a sense of belonging. They emphasized the importance of being able to be their authentic selves in which all of their identities were recognized and valued. These insights, combined with feedback from staff and faculty that emphasized the need for enhanced community-building through more regular engagement and connection, underscore the importance of continuing efforts to improve the campus climate and developing strategies that foster a stronger sense of belonging for all community members.
To support our efforts to foster belonging, the University DEI Committee has invited Ben McBride to join us at our PNCA (12-1:30 pm - Room 107, Shipley/Collins Mediatheque) and Salem (6:30-8 pm - Hudson Hall) campuses on Tuesday, November 12th. McBride is an internationally recognized peacemaker, faith leader, activist, and co-founder of the Empower Initiative, an organization dedicated to enhancing the capacity of institutions and communities to cultivate belonging. Drawing from his book Troubling the Water: The Urgent Work of Radical Belonging, McBride will deliver a keynote address that reframes the conversation around what it means to foster belonging not only at Willamette but in our broader communities as well. McBride will explore the concept of radical belonging, which involves examining our implicit biases and our understandings of power and reflecting on how we categorize individuals as "other"—or "same"—people. He offers a compelling invitation to lean into our shared humanity and believes that instead of asking, “What should we do?” we should be asking, “Who do we need to become?”
We invite our university community and our community partners in Portland and Salem to this opportunity to begin imagining who we need to become to create our own radical belonging at Willamette and in the communities we are a part of.
