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Join Northwest Vista College’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Efforts
Diversity is one of the touchstones of Northwest Vista College. But the last few years have revealed that organizations have to go beyond surface-level diversity and actively embrace equity and inclusion to better serve students and its community.
Northwest Vista College has been actively taking steps to make a better Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive environment for both employees and students. In 2020, NVC leadership made DEI initiatives a priority and moved to make a:
- Public commitment to be an anti-racist college
- Commitment to act for racial equity
- Commitment to transformation through achieving actions against racism and inequality
Land acknowledgments honor historical links between Indigenous Peoples/Nations and the territories. This traditional custom dates back centuries for many Native communities and nations. For the last several years, many institutions of higher education and organizations commonly begin meetings and events with formal statements of land acknowledgments.
In these public statements, institutions acknowledge history, and express a commitment to current reality and future relationship between the institution, Indigenous Peoples/Nations and the land. For non-indigenous communities, this signifies respect and recognition and honors the traditional caretakers of the land on which we work, live and play. Knowing the unceded land we live on is important because Indigenous history is American history. By learning about the cultures and history of our original inhabitants, we honor their history and counter the narratives of discovery and colonization.
Please see the Land Acknowledgement that NVC uses with permission from the American Indians of Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions.
In 2021, the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) selected Northwest Vista College as one of fifty-five institutions throughout the US to establish a center for TRHT. The center will acknowledge, honor and celebrate the unique cultures, challenges and advantages of each institution, to establish equity-minded practices that advance our students and communities by dismantling belief in the hierarchy of human value and confronting racism in our society. This work made possible with funding from the Trellis Foundation
For more information on TRHT visit the AAC&U website.
About the Collaborative for Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice
The purpose of The Collaborative for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice at NVC (The Collaborative) is to take actions toward greater diversity and greater inclusion at the college and by modeling as well as recommending equitable practices.
This group was started in 2020 soon after the death of George Floyd to help the college understand discrimination and microaggressions that exist in the workplace. The group’s vision is to Amplify Black Voices at Northwest Vista College.
The mission of the Peace and Conflict Studies program at Northwest Vista College is to examine issues of social justice and to develop skills in peacebuilding and conflict transformation through interdisciplinary study. Peace and Conflict coursework explores: war and peace, identity, non-violent philosophy, conflict resolution, peace building, recovery from trauma, restorative justice, and social justice principles.
After being in the San Antonio community for nearly 30 years and advocating for peace initiatives, NVC will help move the organization forward.
This historic transition in 2022 is a culmination of shared vision and values for San Antonio. In 2017, the peaceCENTER was the catalyst to have San Antonio recognized as a Compassionate City. The City Council unanimously voted on a resolution affirming the Charter for Compassion and the International Campaign for Compassionate Cities. The International Campaign for Compassionate Cities is a global movement inspired by the Golden Rule, or Ethic of Reciprocity, which calls on each person to treat others as they would want to be treated.