Amy E. Moreno-Sherwood, MEd, is the director of inclusive culture for the College of Engineering and Applied Science, working primarily with staff, faculty and administrators around diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Amy has been on campus for 11.5 years and has held positions within Student Affairs and campus Human Resources prior to taking on this inaugural role for the college. Amy’s educational background includes degrees in animal science, cultural anthropology and a graduate degree in educational leadership and policy studies with a social justice emphasis. Amy also just earned a graduate leadership and management certificate this summer from our very own Engineering Management Program. Amy has been researching, designing and implementing programs and strategies around diversity, inclusion and equity for over 20 years in higher education. One of Amy’s sayings that she has shared with the college is that “we want to move from 'all are welcome here' to 'we designed this community with you in mind.'”
Amy’s reflections on why it is important for CEAS to continuously design, build, and maintain an inclusive culture within all units in the college: I have created a definition of inclusive culture that combines a definition of culture from Margaret Mead (cultural anthropologist) and the Centre for Global Inclusion. The definition outlines the importance of identifying the values, norms and practices that enable each of us to contribute to a learning and working environment in which we can all make progress towards our goals and productively and effectively navigate our challenges. Engineers address society’s needs and problems, and it is important that we commit to doing the same within our college as well. My hope is that individuals and groups within CEAS reflect on this definition and identify specific behaviors, practices and decisions that would enable and/or hinder us from making continuous progress toward an inclusive culture.
Inclusive Culture: A set of shared values, norms and assumptions that guide peoples’ behavior within a group or institution in which a dynamic state of operating takes place where diversity is leveraged to create a fair, healthy and high-performing organization or community. Ensuring equitable access to resources and opportunities for all. Enabling individuals and groups to feel safe, respected, engaged, motivated and valued for who they are and for their contributions toward organizational and societal goals.