Inclusive Excellence Dinner
As our campus moves toward a future where diversity, equity, and inclusion are not just ideals, but lived experiences for every member of our community, the Inclusive Excellence Dinner is an exploration of integrating educational excellence with our commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism, as framed by the American Association of Colleges and Universities.
The Inclusive Excellence Dinner, which is held every Fall is an annual celebration of our collective commitment towards an inclusive Reed community. Every fall, our campus community comes together to celebrate the amazing work of our Social Justice Research & Education Interns. This gathering, a reminder of what is possible when we center inclusive excellence, is also an opportunity to empower campus-wide synergy in operationalizing Reed College’s Diversity and Anti-Racism statements.
The inaugural Inclusive Excellence Dinner was held in February of 2024, where our campus was joined by Dr. Tia Brown McNair, a visionary in the field of DEI and Inclusive Excellence.
Dr. McNair is the Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success, and Executive Director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC.
She oversees both funded projects and AAC&U’s continuing programs on equity, inclusive excellence, high-impact practices, and student success.
She is the lead author of the books From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education (January 2020) and Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success (July 2016). McNair is a co-author on the publication Assessing Underserved Students’ Engagement in High-Impact Practices.
In March 2020, Diverse: Issues In Higher Education named Dr. McNair as one of thirty-five outstanding women who have tackled some of higher education’s toughest challenges, exhibited extraordinary leadership skills, and made a positive difference in their communities.
The National Association of Students Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA) named Dr. McNair the 2024 recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Higher Education Award.
We look forward to having you at our Inclusive Excellence Dinner!
