*The school’s 2016-2023 diversity plan – outlined below – was replaced with a new plan in 2023.

The School of Communications at Elon University is committed to having a diverse and inclusive program that reflects domestic diversity and a global society. The school believes that those entrusted to communicate news, information, persuasion and entertainment in society should reflect the diverse audiences and participants they seek to reach in order to best serve the public good.

The university states it this way: “Diversity is an essential component of the educational experience of our students, a key aspect of academic excellence, and a crucial part of an inclusive community. Diversity refers to the wide range of differences that exist among individuals. Inclusion refers to proactive behaviors that make each person feel welcome and a part of the campus. At Elon University we seek a caring and inclusive environment wherein differences are valued and integrated into every aspect of campus in order to prepare future global citizens.”

Elon embraces a broad definition of diversity that includes gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic standing and intellectual viewpoint.

The School of Communications endeavors to accomplish this commitment in the following ways:

A Diverse Faculty and Staff

  • Demonstrate effective efforts to recruit faculty members from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds, using as a benchmark the university’s faculty composition and the school’s composition during the preceding accreditation review.
  • Formally instruct search committee members on how to achieve best practices in building and considering a diverse applicant pool.
  • Partner with nearby historically black institutions that have strong journalism and communications programs through faculty exchanges and joint endeavors.

A Diverse Student Body

  • Recruit a student body reflecting the diversity of the population the university serves through school initiatives, faculty participation in multicultural weekends on campus, and working with Admissions on recruiting students from diverse backgrounds.
  • Strengthen the school’s relationship with the Elon Academy, a college-access program that helps high school students who typically are underrepresented on college campuses.
  • Increase the school’s scholarship funds designated to enhance the diversity of the student body.
  • Work with Student Media Board to encourage campus media organizations to have diverse staffs and to ensure that campus media content reflects diverse opinions and perspectives.
  • Promote achievements in national programs by diverse students.

An Inclusive Curriculum

  • Emphasize the importance of domestic and global diversity and the historic and current contribution of diverse voices in society, as evidenced by course objectives on syllabi.
  • Encourage and support student conversations on campus climate and diversity topics, as evidenced by National Survey of Student Engagement data.
  • Promote experiential learning that exposes students to the diverse domestic and international world in which they live.
  • Invite a diverse group of professionals as guest speakers in classes to expose students to different perspectives and issues.

A Supportive Environment

  • Maintain a climate that is both respectful and supportive of diverse people and viewpoints and that actively supports the goals, initiatives and assessment measures outlined in this plan.
  • Partner with university groups to offer programming and discussions related to diversity.
  • Participate in national organizations and events on the importance of diversity and inclusiveness in the communications discipline.
  • Support the university’s religious holiday observance policy and be sensitive to the observed and practiced holy days of different faiths.
  • Recruit women and minority professionals to serve on the School of Communications Advisory Board.