Inclusive Excellence Priorities

Creating and sustaining an organization where students, faculty, and staff can be the best versions of themselves does not happen by accident. A solid foundation must be established upon which our Inclusive Excellence Framework will operate. Standards and expectations for diversity, equity, and inclusion are not only promoted and reinforced by our internal stakeholders, but also by our external stakeholders. Wake Forest University as an institution has adopted the Realizing Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (R.I.D.E.) Framework as its guidepost for Inclusive Excellence. Leadership at Wake Forest University School of Business (WFUSB) chose the three R.I.D.E. Priorities below to develop a baseline of where we are with our students, faculty, and staff.

Recruitment and Retention

We want to better understand how well our current recruitment practices help us to access the widest possible range of talent from traditional and non-traditional pools. Recruiting from a diverse talent pool will facilitate our ability to have a representative mix of students, faculty, and staff from various visible and non-visible dimensions of identity. However, bringing talented individuals into WFUSB is only part of the puzzle. We also want to evaluate how well we can retain our talent. This will involve a thorough examination of the reasons why people choose to stay – or leave.

Traditions and Practices

We want to better understand the established customs, behaviors, policies, and norms that shape the culture and operations of the School. Examining traditions and practices is essential to assess how the School fosters or hinders a diverse and inclusive environment. It involves identifying areas where improvements can be made, addressing biases, and promoting policies and behaviors that support the Inclusive Excellence goals of the School and institution.

Departmental/Organizational Climate

We want to better understand our current departmental/organizational climate through a campus-wide survey that will be administered to students, faculty, and staff. The goal of this survey will be to identify priorities and opportunities for change, growth, and improvement. We’ll also look at how belonging and inclusion are communicated within the School, and how people view the impact of Inclusive Excellence initiatives on the overall climate. As we grow as a Business School and adapt to an ever-changing global market, it is imperative that we keep a pulse on how well our organizational environment contributes to the well-being, retention, and success of its students, faculty, and staff.