Loyola Marymount University was one of 21 institutions that hosted the Restorative Communities of Practice (RCoP) national workshop on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024.
The gathering utilized methods such as community circles, conflict mediation, and restorative dialogue to address harm and promote accountability. LMU’s CURes Restorative Justice Project aligns with RCoP, impacting systemic education reform and transforming social structures toward a more just society.
“It’s so important to be in these spaces filled with community, strategy, hope, and resilience,” said Emelyn A. dela Peña, Ed.D., LMU vice president for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and president of the Southern California chapter of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education. “The work advancing anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion must be done in communities of practice with others who care about these issues,” she added.
Organized by the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE), more than 200 senior-level diversity officers and academic diversity officers convened virtually and in person to reflect on and develop plans to strategically respond to the challenges to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. They also advanced the conversation about the current and future state of higher education, focusing on preparing all students for success while fostering a community of practice among leaders.
“As the leading voice for current and aspiring leaders, NADOHE has been at the forefront of efforts that would advance opportunities for students rather than limit them,” said Clyde Wilson Pickett, chair of NADOHE’s board of directors. “The RCoP convening will allow participants to share experiences and develop strategies for advancing access, success, and excellence in higher education.”
Leaders from the AAC&U (American Association of Colleges & Universities) and TRHT (Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation™) were also in attendance and contributed to the ongoing conversation about how higher education can better serve all individuals and communities.
“It’s nice to be in community with so many different folks across the U.S. and to recognize that we all aren’t alone,” said jamal epperson, LMU assistant director of DEI Initiatives and lead of LMU’s TRHT campus center, “It really affirms our commitment to faith and the promotion of justice, along with the ways racial healing and narrative change can build coalitions across differences. During these uncertain times of change, it’s especially important to engage with our neighbors who are planning for the future.”
“As NADOHE members and higher education institutions navigate changing laws and obstacles to success, it is absolutely critical that we understand what they are experiencing and how they are adjusting,” said NADOHE President and CEO Paulette Granberry Russell. “Data gathered will inform the development of a longer-term strategy for better representing the role higher education plays in assuring that all students are able to succeed in their campus communities and beyond.”
