HLC Quality Initiative: Building a Stronger and More Inclusive Marshall Community
Approved October 12, 2021, by the Higher Learning Commission
Diversity, equity, and inclusion have been priorities at Marshall University for many years and they received increased emphasis in 2016 upon the arrival of Marshall’s president, Dr. Jerome A. Gilbert. The Quality Initiative (QI) will extend this work at the university by creating new activities that align with three goals:
- to increase students’ readiness to work and live in a global and/or otherwise diverse community by providing them opportunities to grow and learn through contact with others who come from cultures, races, or backgrounds different than their own;
- to increase access to the university by reducing barriers that disproportionately disadvantage people from underserved communities and provide support needed for success; and
- to promote student learning through outreach to the community and engagement in such high impact practices as community-based learning and research.
Although some of the activities outlined in this proposal are designed to be completed during the QI, it is our hope that many will become part of the culture of Marshall University and continue beyond the formal conclusion of the QI.
Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/57691816) describes the Harlan Renaissance as “an intimate remembrance of kinship and community in eastern Kentucky’s coal towns written by one of the luminaries of Appalachian studies, Willima Turner.” It is the winner of the Weatherford Award for Nonfiction.
