Project Inclusion

Project Inclusion at WPI is a three-year initiative to help the university set standards and expectations for a campus environment that is accepting and welcoming to all. Under its guidelines, WPI establishes the definitions and sets goals around diversity, inclusion, and equity.

Conversation with the President - Summer 2018

Project Inclusion: A Conversation With The President

What Is Project Inclusion?

Launched in the spring of 2017, Project Inclusion uses input from the entire community to establish guidelines and adopt policies to help WPI assess the current campus environment. Facilitators assist in the process and help guide community ideas and proposals into strategies and actions that will be successful on the WPI campus. Read the bios of the facilitators WPI is working with here.

With the guidance of facilitators, Project Inclusion begins that assessment in a structured way using the following dimensions:

Philosophy and Mission
Faculty Support and Involvement
Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Research
Staff Engagement and Involvement
Student Support and Involvement
Administrative Leadership and Institutional Support

President Laurie Leshin and Vice President Michelle Jones-Johnson talk about Project Inclusion

Project Inclusion is high on WPI's priority list and it's important to know why. President Laurie Leshin and Michelle Jones-Johnson, WPI’s Vice President for Talent and Inclusion, discuss the initiative and the role it will be playing throughout the institution. The WPI Journal published an article about the conversation in the Summer 2018 edition of the print publication.

Read about it here.

An In-Depth Look at Project Inclusion

The Daily Herd recently caught up with Peter Hansen, humanities & arts professor, director of the International & Global Studies program, and 2017 - 2018 co-chair of Project Inclusion’s Rubric Steering Committee (RSC), to take a deeper look at Peter's involvement within the Rubric Steering Committee and the Project Inclusion initiative as a whole. Read more about it here.

Michelle Jones-Johnson, vice president for talent development and chief diversity officer, believes community discussions and efforts keep the conversation around diversity and inclusion open and continuing. Employees don't just work at WPI, they help create and sustain an environment where community members feel like they are making a difference. Read more about how Project Inclusion helps that process

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The launch of the Project Inclusion initiative in spring of 2017 welcomed input from the community and explained how weaving diversity and inclusion into the fabric of WPI would bring lasting results. One of the first steps was forming the Project Inclusion Steering Committee which gathers information from the community to ensure the most appropriate and efficient strategies are put into place.

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Students walking past fountain in the evening.

Project Inclusion hosts a series of engaging and intentional programming that ties back to the initiative's mission of administering diversity, equity, and inclusion into the bloodstream of the university and campus culture; and not only that, many of the events serve to keep the WPI community apprised of the initiative's mission, goals, and next steps. Programming takes the form of cookouts, community listening circles, speaker series, and much more. All project inclusion programming is advertised via email, WPI Today, the WPI University calendar, and various WPI listserves. Make sure to keep a look out!

When Is the Next Event?

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Project Inclusion Executive Summary (PDF)

Project Inclusion Readiness Assessment (PDF)

Project Inclusion PowerPoint (PDF)

Rubric Steering Committee Members 2018 - 2019

Chair: Michelle Jones-Johnson, VP for Talent Development and Chief Diversity Officer
Co-Chair: Emily Douglas, Professor/Department Head | Social Science & Policy Studies
WPI PI Institutional Liaison: Bonnie Walker, Executive Director of Diversity and Inclusion Strategy
WPI PI Administrative Support: Christelle Hayles, Diversity and Inclusion Specialist
*29 Active SC Members

Administrative Leadership Dimension Sub-commitee

Staff

Christopher (Chris) Robertson, Head Coach-Football, Physical Education

Whitney Goldstein, Head Coach-Softball, Physical Education

Katherine (Katie) Elmes, Associate Director, STEM/Director of Prep Program, Stem Education Center

Christine Sharry, Director, Student Activities

Michael Jacobs, Sergeant, Campus Police

Stefan (Steve) Koppi, Executive Director, Career Development Center

Stacie Murray (Co-Chair), Executive Director, Marketing and Communications

Alison Donta-Venman, Director, Institutional Research

Casey Wall, Assistant Dean of Students & Director, Residential Services

Andrew (Andy) Palumbo, Dean, Admissions and Financial Aid

Diane Begreen, Operations Manager, Library Services

Yvette Rutledge, Customer Service Coordinator, Facilities

Laura Rosen, Director, Disability Services

Kristopher Sullivan, Assistant Vice President, Academic Affairs

Faculty

Michelle Ephraim, Associate Professor, Humanities & Arts

Zoe Reidinger, Assistant Teaching Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Douglas Petkie, Professor & Department Head, Physics

Suzanne Weekes, Professor, Mathematics

Suzanne (Sue) Celia Roberts, Department Head and Professor, Chemical Engineering

Curriculum Dimension Sub-committee

Staff

Rory Flinn, Director, Graduate Student Professional Development, Dean of Graduate Studies

Charlana Simmons, Director, Multicultural Affairs (Charlana will not be able to formally participate until January 2019)

Anna Gold (Co-Chair), University Librarian, Library Services

Heidi Morton, Career Advisor, Career Development Center

Peter Thomas, Executive Director, University Advancement

Paula Quinn (Co-Chair), Associate Director, Center for Project-Based Learning

Faculty

Lisa Stoddard, Assistant Teaching Professor, Environmental & Sustainability Studies

James (Jim) Joseph Girouard, Senior Program Dev Manager, Academic and Corporate Engagement

Chrys Demetry, Director, Morgan Teaching & Learning Center; Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Stephen Kmiotek, Professor of Practice, Chemical Engineering

Corey Dehner, (Will tentatively return to serve in Spring 2019)

Angel Rivera, Associate Professor, Humanities & Arts

Students

Avery Brown, Graduate Student, Chemical Engineering

Rubric Steering Committee Members 2017 - 2018

Chair: Michelle Jones-Johnson, VP for Talent Development and Chief Diversity Officer
Co-Chair: Peter Hansen, Professor, Humanities and Arts; Director, International and Global Studies
WPI PI Institutional Liaison: Bonnie Walker, Executive Director, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy
WPI PI Administrative Support: Christelle Hayles, Diversity and Inclusion Specialist

Staff

Diane Begreen, Operations Manager, Library Services

Alison Donta-Venman, Director, Institutional Research

Michael Jacobs, Sergeant, Campus Police

Rachel LeBlanc, Assistant Vice President, CPE

Andrew (Andy) Palumbo, Dean, Admissions and Financial Aid

Paula Quinn, Associate Director, Center for Project-Based Learning

Yvette Rutledge, Customer Service Coordinator, Facilities

Charlana Simmons, Director, Multicultural Affairs

Kristopher Sullivan, Assistant Vice President, Academic Affairs

Tom Thomsen, Director, International Students and Scholars Office

Casey Wall, Director, Residential Services