MEDIA, Pa. — This year marks the fifth anniversary of Penn State Brandywine’s Chancellor’s Commissions on Equity by Design, a milestone that highlights the campus’ ongoing commitment to fostering an inclusive, equitable and empowering environment for all.
Launched in 2020 under the leadership of Regional Chancellor Marilyn J. Wells, the commissions were established to provide intentional, actionable guidance on addressing inequities across campus and help build a culture of belonging that is central to Brandywine’s mission. The Commissions — Disability and Advancing Accessibility, Empowering Women, Interfaith and Spiritual Inclusion, LGBTQ+ Equity, Racial and Ethnic Justice, and Veteran and Military Success — have since become integral to shaping campus practices and conversations.
Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging have been a core value in Wells’ life and leadership. The goal of the commissions, she said, is to tap into national universities and campus organizations and partners to explore current issues, insights, research, best practices and resources to create systemic changes to improve student success and professional fulfillment.
“Our campus community has continued to value our Chancellor’s Commissions on Equity by Design as evidenced by the broad interest among our faculty, staff and students in serving on them, participating and supporting their initiatives and activities, and in celebrating their progress in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Wells. “They have been integral to the values and goals in our Penn State Brandywine Strategic Plan 2020-2025: New Opportunities, New Stories, which has been at the forefront of the campus.”
Each commission is composed of students, faculty and staff who collaborate to assess campus climate, identify barriers and propose initiatives that drive equity and inclusion forward. In the past five years, the commissions have led or influenced a range of meaningful changes across the Brandywine campus, including:
- Advancing accessibility on campus: The Chancellor’s Commission on Disability and Advocating Accessibility has added more accessible parking spaces to parking lots on campus, updated a ramp in the Tomezsko Classroom Building, added accessible entrances to the Commons building, ensured at least one wheelchair-accessible desk is in each classroom, created an online accessibility report form and added two new fully accessible restrooms to the Vairo Building.
- Inclusive spaces: The Chancellor’s Commission on Interfaith and Spiritual Inclusion aided in the creation of a sacred space on campus, a wellness and interfaith prayer room in the Tomezsko Classroom Building. The Chancellor’s Commission on LGBTQ+ Equity led Safer People, Safer Places trainings for faculty and staff and created more visible ways to showcase the trained allies on campus.
- Campus climate surveys: Multiple commissions created surveys to solicit feedback on how students, faculty and staff felt on campus in terms of inclusion and belonging. This helped administrators better understand the needs and experiences of the campus community.
- Equity-focused events and education: Multiple commissions held events and educational sessions to help members of the Brandywine community learn about the experiences of different groups. These events and educational sessions included workshops, movie streaming, community discussions, speaker series and more.
Over the next five years, Wells said, she sees the commissions building upon the progress and achievements of the first five years, highlighting themes including belonging, empowerment and the human experience.
“Together, the commissions are planning wonderfully engaging events and experiences for our students, faculty and staff to think, to feel, to act, through speakers, storytelling, travel, research, campus projects and community engagement,” she said.
“They are looking to highlight themes of belonging, culture, legacy, empowerment, exploration and the human experience," Wells added. "Our commissions are working together, and with many others across our campus and University, to foster a campus where everyone feels they are welcome and belong and are emboldened to succeed and thrive in pursuing their goals and dreams.”