Initiatives & Outreach

Diversity

Diversity is essential for an excellent university. Competition among the best universities for the best faculty, staff and students is only possible with an unwavering commitment to a campus that values difference and is diverse.

Improving the environment for all members of the Washington University in St. Louis community, with a special focus on the climate for women and members of underrepresented groups, is critically important to WUSTL. The university embraces differences in the form of gender, race, ethnicity, geography, socioeconomic status, age, politics, philosophy, disability and sexual orientation.

The university provides inclusive medical care and mental health services to gender-variant students, offers a wide range of scholarships recognizing students who work on issues affecting diverse communities, provides gender neutral housing, includes sexual orientation and gender identity and expression in our nondiscrimination policy and offers domestic partner benefits to faculty and staff.

Diversity Initiatives

The Washington University Diversity Initiative was launched in July 2005. This initiative included the creation of a Coordinating Council for Diversity Initiatives and the appointment of a Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Diversity Initiatives. The focus of the initiative is to increase racial diversity and gender balance among the university's faculty and staff.

In 2009, $250,000 was distributed to faculty and staff in the form of diversity and inclusion grants to enhance the campus climate to improve the environment for women, as well as faculty and administrative staff from diverse backgrounds and to help the recruitment and retention of a diverse faculty and administrative staff.

The Provost’s Office is working to develop and implement a plan to strengthen the diversity of the university community. The office is working to increase the proportion of women and underrepresented faculty at all ranks, especially in leadership positions, ensure equitable pay for all faculty, and foster an intellectual and administrative climate in which all faculty have opportunities to contribute to the direction of the university.

Supplier Diversity

The Office of Supplier Diversity was established at the university in 1999. It aims to help sustain and create diverse businesses in the St. Louis community and increase diversity representation in the workplace. The office works closely with key departments on both the Danforth and Medical campuses.

LGBT Student Involvement and Leadership

The LGBT Student Involvement and Leadership office helps to organize a variety of programming and leadership opportunities each year.

Numerous student groups, both for undergraduate and graduate/professional students, help to advocate for LBGT students on campus and provide a supportive social network for all students.

WUSTL has received 5 out of 5 stars from the Campus Pride LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index, a national organization that ranks campuses for LGBT policy inclusion.