Our commitment to change:
seeking equity, social justice, and antiracism

The senseless and tragic murder of George Floyd, along with many other Black lives taken at the hands of those with a sworn duty to protect, shakes our confidence in the systems and structures intended to maintain safety and peace in our communities. Systemic racism pervades the institutions of our society, and as an academic unit dedicated to helping people learn and grow, the Department of Educational Psychology has a responsibility to stand up to—and dismantle—systemic racism and injustice through our research, teaching, and community engagement. The time is long overdue for introspection and, more importantly, action. Now, more than ever, we affirm our commitment to examining, revising, and enacting principles, policies, and practices to ensure that all aspects of our systems and structures are equitable and just for all members of the Department of Educational Psychology community.

We have a tremendous amount of work to do, starting with an examination of how we have fallen short of living up to our core values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. This process must lead to action and ways of holding ourselves accountable for change. To do so, we are preparing a living document that specifies principles to guide us, resources to call on, and metrics for gauging progress. The following initial action steps will be revised and refined with broad departmental input:

1. We call on all department members to engage in self-reflection and preparation to enact change.
2. We are reviewing student, faculty, and stakeholder data regarding experiences with racism and discrimination in our department, and ideas for how to address these issues.
3. We will engage in in-depth discussion to define our current status: Do our mission and values reflect a commitment to promoting equity and justice? What policies, procedures, and practices are in place (or missing) that contribute to systemic racism, marginalization, or an environment that does not promote inclusiveness?
4. We will identify elements in need of change, and metrics of that change.
5. We will set and prioritize actionable, measurable goals and timelines.
6. We will identify faculty and staff professional development needs and implement training and ongoing support.
7. We will monitor progress, examine the effects of our actions based on data, adjust our activities, and repeat this process.

We recognize that words are not enough; the proof of our commitment will be borne out in the coming months as we strive to take real action. This statement affirms our intention to do so, and to do it together.

Department of Educational Psychology Diversity Committee Department of Educational Psychology Steering Committee

Who we are

The Department of Educational Psychology is a vibrant and diverse community of scholars. Our graduate students represent over 22 different countries creating a globally diverse discourse on the cognitive, emotional, and social learning processes that underlie education and human development across the lifespan. Our faculty bring a wide variety of backgrounds and experience into their research and teaching. Our programs include international students and a diverse ethnic, cultural and socio-economic mix of domestic students.

Our commitment

The Department of Educational Psychology is deeply committed to increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in our undergraduate and graduate programs, in our teaching and learning, in our research and clinical practice, and in our outreach and service across fields of educational psychology. Our goal is to be a welcoming and affirming place where all faculty, staff, and students— Asian, Asian-American and Pacific Islander, Black, Indigenous, people of color, LGBTQIA+, international scholars, those with disabilities, Deaf people, those with intersecting identities, and other members of diverse groups—feel supported to attain and exceed their expectations. Our department strives for social justice and to be a place where respectful exchanges of ideas allow us to embrace the power of diversity of perspectives and backgrounds to enrich us all.

Our research supporting diversity and inclusion

We are uniquely positioned as an applied social science program within the College of Education and Human Development to address issues that underlie education and human development across the lifespan. Specifically, many of our researchers are working to find ways to close opportunity gaps—like educational, career, developmental, social, and mental health outcomes and disparities—by improving how we identify and serve students who need additional support in order to succeed in schools. Learn more about our research on opportunity gaps.

Diversity in the College of Education
and Human Development

We affirm the contributions of all people in our community. Diversity and equity are at the core of our mission in the College of Education and Human Development.

We explicitly reject bias, discrimination, and exclusion on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

We all are responsible for recognizing, confronting, and addressing bias and discrimination and diligently working for positive change in support of equity and diversity.

University student resources

• Educational Psychology Equity, Diversity, and Anti-Racism Student Website
• Office for Equity and Diversity
• Office for Diversity in Graduate Education
• Multicultural Communities
• The Gender and Sexuality Center for Queer and Trans Life Office
• Disability Resource Center
• International Student Office
• Improving Campus Climate
• Core 2025
• McNair Scholars Program
• Bias Response and Referral Network

Diversity in the Twin Cities

The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are located within a major metropolitan area. The cities are home to a nationally recognized arts, music and theater community, and to several professional sports teams. The many distinctive neighborhoods, cultures and faith communities offer rich places for residents to discover a plethora of celebrations, multicultural dining and diverse entertainment options.

In recent years, a variety of rich and thriving immigrant and refugee populations have joined the more established African American and American Indian communities in the area. This includes the largest Somali population in the United States, the largest Hmong population outside Laos, the second-largest Vietnamese and Ethiopian populations and one of the fastest-growing Latino/Hispanic populations. The Twin Cities is also home to one of the country’s most vibrant LGBTQIA+ communities.

In recent months and in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, people across the Twin Cities have come together to ignite a national movement against police brutality. The University of Minnesota— and two organizations the department works with regularly—Minneapolis Public Schools and St. Paul Public Schools have ended their contracts with the Minneapolis and St. Paul Police Departments.

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