COE Diversity & Recruitment Initiatives

In order to support the University of North Georgia’s mission to prepare students who can be leaders in a diverse and global society, the College of Education strives to create an inclusive and socially just environment in which students, staff, and faculty are challenged to respect diverse backgrounds, experiences, and differing perspectives as strengths in the development of an academic environment that promotes equity, ensures access, and supports personal growth. Moreover, the College of Education seeks to establish community partnerships in which students, teachers, faculty, and staff can support diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.

The College of Education at the University of North Georgia strives to support the university’s commitment to diversity in the areas of inclusion, innovation, and excellence. Our faculty and staff recognize the significance of preparing our students for success in a diverse and global society. This is particularly significant for our future educators; these teachers will be influencing, guiding, and serving as role models for generations of children in our schools at home and abroad. To that end, we seek to provide an inclusive environment that recognizes and appreciates the cultural backgrounds of our students. We seek to develop and maintain community partnerships that provide our students opportunities to work with groups and individuals of varying ethnic origins, heritage languages, socioeconomic statuses, sexual orientations, and exceptionalities. Finally, we seek to provide our students a sound foundation in cultural competencies from which to build successful careers in the field of education. Our students will not only graduate with exceptional academic knowledge and pedagogical skills, but also the compassion and empathy required to make a positive impact both in and outside of the classroom.
 
In order to support the mission and vision, the College of Education has developed strategic goals which include:

• Recruiting a more diverse faculty, staff, and student body.
• Retaining a more diverse faculty, staff, and student body.
• Creating an inclusive environment that values diverse views, abilities, and backgrounds amongst faculty, staff, and students.

In the College of Education at the University of North Georgia, our definition of diversity stems from our alignment with the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) in Teacher Education and our alignment with the Commission on the Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CaATE) in Kinesiology.

We view diversity as:

1. "Individual differences (e.g., personality, interests, learning modalities, and life experiences) and
2. group differences (e.g., race, ethnicity, ability, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, nationality, language, religion, political affiliation, and socio-economic background)” (InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards, p. 21).

In light of this definition, “we seek to ensure our students develop cultural competence necessary to work respectfully and effectively with diverse populations and in a diverse work environment” (CaATE 5th Edition Competencies).