ACPA–College Student Educators International actively promotes and recognizes principles of fairness, equity, and social justice in relation to, and across, intersections of race, age, color, disability, faith, religion, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, sex, sexual orientation, social class, economic class, ethnicity, gender identity/expression, and all other identities represented among our diverse membership.

By appreciating the importance of inclusion, we acknowledge that the collective and individual talents, skills, and perspectives of members, constituent groups, and partners foster a culture of belonging, collaborative practice, innovation, and mutual respect. ACPA seeks to empower and engage professionals, scholars, and partners in actions that productively contribute to accomplishing the goals of our association.

Consistent with the Association’s equity and inclusion values, the ACPA25 team is committed to offering a convention experience that is inclusive of and responsive to the needs of all of our members and attendees. We are inspired and guided in this task by the Association’s core values and Strategic Imperative for Racial Justice and Decolonization, and, in particular, the idea of “an always becoming” (Quaye et al., 2018). This idea is especially important amid escalating and evolving resistance to DEI efforts in higher education; to sustain this essential work, we must continue to transform as well. The ACPA25 team will use our collective and evolving understanding of equity, inclusion, and social justice to carry on and build upon the innovative efforts of the Convention leaders who came before us. Our vision for ACPA25 includes:

• Adopting new and enhanced efforts to ensure Convention accessibility and universal design
• Exploring ways to acknowledge and commit to actions that more deeply honor:
  • the land on which we gather and the Indigenous people who are its original and continuing stewards
  • the past and present labor – and particularly that of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities – that makes our Convention possible
• Centering holistic wellbeing as an essential component of sustaining a commitment to equity and inclusion 
• Facilitating experiences that help attendees to capitalize on our annual gathering to organize and support each other across geographic boundaries 

 

Should you experience a situation where ACPA might improve in its efforts to live into its equity and inclusion values, please contact any ACPA staff member or Dr. Jasmine Lee, the current Vice President of Equity & Inclusion on the ACPA Leadership Council. Alternatively, you can report your concerns using ACPA’s Equity and Inclusion Notification Form. You may also wish to review additional information about ACPA’s Bias Incident Prevention and Response Protocol.

The ACPA25 Team welcomes you to email us at [email protected] with any feedback, comments, or ideas that will assist us in making the convention experience more inclusive.

 

Quaye, S. J., Aho, R. E., Beard Jacob, M., Domingue, A. D., Guido, F. M., Lange, A. C., Squire, D., & Stewart, D. L. (2018). A bold vision forward: A framework for the strategic imperative for racial justice and decolonization. ACPA College Student Educators International.