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Who We Are

The Office of Inclusive Leadership and Learning advances American University’s commitment to inclusive excellence through education, leadership development, and community engagement. We cultivate learning environments where every member of our campus community can thrive.

Our work bridges compliance and culture. We support the university’s legal and policy obligations while also building the skills, habits, and leadership capacity necessary to foster belonging, equity, and accountability across the institution.

We serve faculty, staff, students, and campus partners through intentional programming, training, consultation, and cross divisional collaboration.

What We Do

We empower the university community to move from awareness to action by integrating equity, leadership, and compliance into the fabric of campus life. Through evidence-based workshops, inclusive leadership development, and structured dialogue, we provide students, faculty, and staff with the practical tools necessary to foster a culture of belonging and accountability.

We design and facilitate workshops, learning series, and campus wide programming that build capacity in areas such as:

  • Inclusive pedagogy
  • Mitigating bias in hiring and decision making
  • Cultural competency
  • Neurodiversity informed design
  • Title VI and nondiscrimination compliance
  • Civic dialogue and respectful engagement across difference

Our programs move beyond awareness. Participants leave with practical tools they can apply in classrooms, offices, student organizations, and leadership roles.

You can request facilitated workshops, trainings or programs with our office by signing up HERE

We cultivate inclusive leadership at every level of the institution.

Through the Inclusive Excellence Student Leadership Team, we mentor students who serve as ambassadors for equity, access, and belonging. Student leaders are expected to model professionalism, accountability, confidentiality, and ethical representation of the university while actively challenging bias and exclusion

Leadership development extends to faculty and staff as well. We provide consultation, training, and strategic partnerships to departments seeking to strengthen inclusive practice in hiring, retention, classroom climate, and team culture.

Healthy institutions require courageous conversation. We design structured spaces for dialogue across difference that promote listening, learning, and shared responsibility.

Programs such as Meet and Eat, panel discussions on civil rights compliance, and community celebrations create opportunities to build trust and strengthen belonging across roles and identities.

Inclusive excellence must be legally grounded and strategically aligned.

We support university compliance efforts related to nondiscrimination policy, Title VI obligations, and related federal and institutional requirements. Our trainings clarify roles, responsibilities, and reporting obligations while helping campus leaders navigate complex issues involving protected speech, shared ancestry discrimination, and hostile environment standards

We approach compliance not as a check box exercise, but as an opportunity to embed equity, accountability, and integrity into everyday decision making.

  • Strengthen institutional capacity for equity minded leadership
  • Increase faculty and staff competency in inclusive teaching and supervision
  • Foster a campus climate rooted in belonging and mutual respect
  • Ensure policy literacy and compliance awareness across campus
  • Empower students to serve as ethical and inclusive leaders

Our Approach

We believe inclusive leadership is developed through reflection, practice, and accountability. Our work is data informed, collaborative, and grounded in higher education best practice.

We partner across divisions, including Academic Affairs, Athletics, Student Affairs, the Office of General Counsel, and campus technology teams, to ensure alignment between learning, policy, and practice.

Transformation requires shared responsibility. We invite faculty, staff, and students to engage with us in advancing inclusive excellence at American University.