Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

UIC Design faculty, staff, and students are committed to actions that promote a more inclusive school. We stand with our BIPOC colleagues and students in solidarity, and we join the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts in forming and leading initiatives that advance racial equity.

Along with the UIC College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts, our commitment to equity and inclusion has been a declared priority for more than two decades. More recently, the heightened impact of COVID-19 on communities of color and the collective outrage triggered by a parallel pandemic of violence against the Black community inspired a sense of urgency to create more racially balanced work environments.Today, as design leaders nationwide and the local employers of our students respond to an historical moment, we find ourselves at the receiving end of increased demands to provide the diverse workforce that they seek. We welcome the intensified responsibility to amplify diversity in our classrooms, and we are proud to witness how the results of our intensified efforts are doing the same for the field. It is heartening for us, who worked to establish this school, to be arriving where we knew we could and should be—in a position where the UIC School of Design is defining the future of the field.

The UIC School of Design’s commitment to advancing racial equity is supported by a detailed program of existing and planned activities that address a full cycle of engagement from exposure through recruitment, matriculation, graduation, and professional development.