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Equity & Inclusion

Demonstrating an ability to practice and promote diversity, equity, anti-racism, and inclusion in one's engagement work.

Applications paused

We are temporarily pausing applications while we overhaul the Community Engagement Professional Credentialing Program to improve accessibility and increase opportunities for learning and growth.

Key competencies

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Ability to engage in critical self-analysis
  1. Able to articulate one’s commitments to advancing diversity, equity, anti-racism, and inclusion and to identify the personal experiences, knowledge, and frameworks that guide and inform one’s commitments and actions;
  2. Knowledge of equity frameworks relevant to social change work in community and institutional contexts; 
  3. Able to reflect on one’s own experiences, through an intersectional lens and as they relate to power and privilege, and analyze how these experiences have (1) impacted one’s commitments to diversity, equity, anti-racism, and inclusion and (2) shaped the role(s) one plays as a CEP to advance such work; 
  4. Able to recognize one’s own explicit and implicit biases and how such biases may constrain or enable one’s efficacy to carry out equity and inclusion work 
Ability to engage in critical analysis of one’s institutional context
  1. Able to identify the stated goals of one’s institution and unit as they relate to diversity, equity, anti-racism, and inclusion, as well as the specific strategies being pursued to meet those goals (for example, related to student access and retention, programming, community partnerships, staff development and hiring, etc.)
  2. Able to analyze or map the institutional contexts in which one is working in order to identify successes, opportunities, and challenges/tensions to achieving stated diversity, equity, anti-racism, and inclusion goals 
Ability to integrate equity and inclusion strategies into one’s professional practice

Able to contextually apply one’s understandings and skills to advance equity-related goals and commitments through specific practices, activities, structures or policies pertinent to one’s role as a CEP role 

Ability to work across roles and programs/units to address equity and inclusion issues

Able to work across roles and programs/units to address equity and inclusion issues through collaboration, partnership, or support of efforts in areas beyond one’s direct responsibility, on or off campus

Critical commitments
  1. Engage in continuous professional learning and development around diversity, equity, anti-racism, and inclusion issues 
  2. Embrace equity-mindedness (Find a definition of equity-mindedness on the USC Center for Urban Education website at cue.usc.edu/about/equity/equity-mindedness)