Harvard IDEAs:  Inclusion, Diversity, and Excellence in Action

Project: Harvard IDEAs:  Inclusion, Diversity, and Excellence in Action

Team: Myrish Antonio, Lori Cawthorne, Surabhi Chatterjee, Teresa Malonzo, Tana Ruegamer, Colleen Silva, Alexis Stokes

Schools/Units Represented: HHR, HKS,HL, HIO, LASPAU, SEAS

Mission:  Harvard IDEAs is a cultural competency training that moves beyond preparing individuals to “work in” an inclusive environment. It prepares individuals to “actively contribute to” an inclusive environment.

The  mission  of  the  Harvard  IDEAs  is  to  create  a  university-wide  cultural  competency  program by building leadership capability and organizational capacity to advance inclusive excellence  and  belonging  at  Harvard. The program creates allies by exploring  issues  of  privilege, micro-aggressions, self-understanding/biases, engaging in difficult conversations, activism, and creating inclusive excellence among staff and senior leaders. The  program  will  increase  commitment  from  all  staff  employees  to  do  their  part  and  actively contribute to an inclusive environment -- management must possess diversity and inclusion competencies to lead and manage an engaged workforce and others must treat colleagues  with  respect  by  listening  to  different  viewpoints  and  ideas;  and  embracing  a  culture of inclusion.