The University of Calgary launched the Inclusive Excellence Cluster Hiring Initiative, which will recruit 45 professors from marginalized communities in the next three years. .“At the University of Calgary, we are committed to equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility,” said U of C President and Vice-Chancellor Ed McCauley in a statement. .“We'll continue to strive to create pathways forward for equity-deserving groups that are more reflective of the larger community we serve.”.This initiative is being pursued through Sec. 6 on equitable and inclusive hiring in the U of C staff handbook and Sec. 10 of the Alberta Human Rights Act. .The statement said inclusive excellence affirms how diversity can deepen learning, enhance critical thinking and problem solving, and fuel creativity and innovation in academia. It said inclusive excellence is necessary to create access and success at U of C. .The statement went on to say the pursuit of excellence is best achieved through equitable, diverse, inclusive, and accessible environments, where all people have the potential and opportunities to flourish. While the pursuit of excellence is an inclusive one, it said how it's been defined was exclusionary to marginalized communities. .“UCalgary’s cluster hiring initiative is an important step in our efforts to close persistent equity gaps,” said Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President Research Malinda Smith. .“We are committed to recruiting and ensuring the success of outstanding scholars from equity-deserving groups.”.U of C is a member of Universities Canada, which adopted seven inclusive excellence principles in 2017. Three principles are relevant to this initiative. .Principle One said universities are "enriched by diversity and inclusion." The importance of proactive measures is highlighted in Principle Three, which required universities to commit to taking action to provide equity of access and opportunity. .Principle Five said university leaders should commit institutions find “ways to integrate inclusive excellence throughout our university’s teaching, research, community engagement and governance.” .“We are taking initiatives like this to ensure that happens, not by closing doors, but by opening doors to everyone,” said McCauley. .U of C admitted in 2020 it is a systemically racist institution. .READ MORE: NAVARRO-GÉNIE: The University of Calgary’s “systemic racism” admission is virtue-signalling at its worst.The university made the comments after a group of professors wrote an open letter saying it was a racist place. The letter said white professors and students express racist sentiments. .It called for the university to support social justice by making students “equipped to advocate.”.Some of the requests made include condemning police brutality, diversity hiring, and less rigour in admissions.
