EDI office renamed to access, community, and belonging
"Access, community, and belonging actually describe what we're trying to achieve in language that our own community members use," U of A President Flanagan says.
Christien FordAs of January 1, the University of Alberta’s office of the vice-provost (equity, diversity, and inclusion) (EDI) is now (access, community, and belonging) (ACB). The change follows the approval of Changing the Story, a draft integrated EDI action plan, by the Board of Governors (BoG) on December 13, 2024.
The Gateway spoke to President and Vice-chancellor Bill Flanagan about the name change and what it means for the university.
Flanagan discusses the change from EDI to ACB
The development of Changing the Story involved a consultation process led by vice-provost (ACB) Carrie Smith. Throughout consultations with over 1,000 university community members, the words access, community, and belonging emerged most frequently, according to Flanagan.
“It really emerged that we might want to think about a new language to describe what we’re doing at the university,” Flanagan said.
According to Flanagan, the change in language better reflects the U of A’s goals.
“I think that EDI talks more about the process and the mechanisms to building the community that we want,” Flanagan said. “Access, community, and belonging actually describe what we’re trying to achieve in language that our own community members use. It is a language that is more authentic.”
The word “access” refers to removing social and financial barriers for students, faculty, and staff, Flanagan said. He cited the U School program and the university’s financial supports as examples of this work.
“I’m proud that the [U of A] dedicates over $40 million a year in supports for undergraduate students and another $29 million in supports for graduate students.”
“Community” involves recognizing the university’s diversity and finding ways to “reach across divides and foster conversations,” Flanagan said.
“That diversity also brings challenges and complexities, and we’ve seen this in the recent conflict in Gaza,” he said. “It’s really important that we be a community for everyone, that we do everything we can to reach across divides and foster conversations.”
“Belonging” refers to ensuring the university is a place where students, faculty, and staff feel they belong, he added.
The transition to ACB is a “work in progress,” Flanagan says
The transition from EDI to ACB will involve evaluating the language of the university’s programming to ensure it is “authentic” to the university community, Flanagan said. He emphasized that this transition is “a work in progress” that requires “continued community consultation.”
“We’re doing this because these are the words that best reflected the results of our consultations with community members. I think we want to continue that in process of engagement.”
On January 2, Flanagan published an op-ed in the Edmonton Journal explaining the move away from EDI in which he credits the U of A as “the first major Canadian university” to adopt ACB. The Gateway asked if Flanagan anticipates other Canadian universities adopting a similar approach. He said he cannot speak for other universities, but mentioned the “very live conversation” surrounding EDI in Canadian universities and elsewhere. He encouraged his colleagues to “listen to [their] community.”
