The work of individual equity-minded practitioners is essential to advancing racial equity to redress the long-standing systemic racial inequities that have become routinized in higher education. However, to transform our institutions, this work must be campus-wide and guided by a common set of equity indicators (Layton Benson, 2022; Gentlewarrior, Gonell, Paredes, Shama, 2024; Kezar & Holcombe, 2024; Learning Forward, 2022; Liera & Desir, 2023; Lynch, et al., 2023).
A central tenet of equity-mindedness (Bensimon, 2020; 2024; McNair et al., 2020) and shared equity leadership (Kezar et al., 2022; Kezar & Holcombe. 2024) is that when enough individuals engage in equity-advancing work, and establish institutional structures that support racial equity efforts, the organizational culture will slowly shift from being race-neutral, which has long disadvantaged Students of Color, to being equity-minded, which leads to the success of all students through race conscious efforts. “As more leaders grow to be equity-minded and learn to work collectively, the force of change toward equity increases, which drives organizational transformation” (Kezar & Holcombe, 2024, p. 29).
The IEIs emphasize racial equity due to higher education’s long history of racialized disparate student outcomes and with the knowledge that institutional transformation efforts that support the success of Students of Color will support students from a range of other identities as well. The Institutional Equity-minded Indicators delineated at the link are meant to offer practical ways that all campuses can demonstrate their progress toward equity-mindedness. The IEIs have been constructed in a manner broad enough to honor the diversity of institutional types, legislative contexts, and other institution-specific factors that influence our daily work with students.
Please access the REJI Institutional Equity-minded Indicators here:
