At Syracuse University, we believe in the dignity and worth of all people. This belief commits us to ensure a diverse, equitable, inclusive and accessible campus environment for all. Each person here should be welcomed and appreciated. We value diverse identities. Cultural perspectives and worldviews matter to us. Difference should never mean devaluation, nor should it result in discrimination. We believe that diversity and inclusion enhance who we are as students, faculty, staff and alumni. A key dimension of Syracuse University’s excellence is our adherence to the core values of diversity, inclusion, equity and accessibility. Syracuse University’s Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence (IC CAE) draws from its own history of distinctive strengths.
Since its founding as a coeducational institution in 1870, Syracuse University has embraced broad notions of diversity and inclusion—in its student body (nearly half are from diverse backgrounds), faculty research and role-models, curriculum and leadership. The University’s first president, Jesse Truesdell Peck, announced at the University’s opening ceremony: “there shall be no invidious discrimination here against woman,” as “brains and heart shall have a fair chance.” Syracuse University maintains with pride a historical commitment to U.S. military servicemembers as exemplars of national public service and is home to one of the largest student populations of military veterans in the Northeast, the nation’s longest continuous Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program and the only national think tank in the area of veterans and military families, the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), devoted to “serving those who have served.” Syracuse University is a national leader both in students with disabilities and national and international research on disabilities.
Syracuse University’s IC CAE program is an innovative academic resource for the educational value of diversity in our world today. We are enthusiastically committed to sharing and providing resources, courses and curricular content, programs, faculty expertise and mentorship on diversity and inclusion issues at the University and beyond. We see ourselves as part of a broader mosaic of academic diversity-serving programs at the University (beyond specific administrative offices, such as Diversity and Inclusion, Disability Services, LGBTQ Resource Center, Multicultural Affairs, Institute for Veterans and Military Families, etc.). We intend to offer in-depth diversity and inclusion learning opportunities for students, so that students may build substantive knowledge in this area, including in ways that advance their disciplinary degree programs.
The University’s commitment to inclusivity and diversity—in perspectives, demographics, experiences, background, languages, national service and abilities—provide a firm foundation to recruit and educate a dynamic public service-oriented student cohort with IC knowledge, technical expertise and special skills sets.