Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

OUR COMMITMENT

The staff of Trinity College Rome Campus (TCRC) works in collaboration with the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) office in Hartford, CT to offer a welcoming, safe environment to our students here in Rome. Our work on DEI is integrated in our general commitment to supporting students, which is central to our work as well as creating spaces for their experiences and connecting them to local communities. This goal is not new to the TCRC faculty and staff’s commitment to student’s wellbeing, but over the years the strategies we have designed and put in place to promote inclusiveness have changed and expanded in an effort to bridge divides and offer effective support to all members of our community who come from a variety of backgrounds.

Rome is mostly famous for its history, museums, archeological sites, but it is also a very modern, dynamic, multicultural city; through the years faculty and staff have constantly worked to include these aspects of the city to life on campus, and to offer a welcoming environment to our students. With this distinctive approach in mind, we focus our commitment on precise plans to make sure our students can experience as many sides of this great city as possible, while also reflecting on and listening to a wider range of voices and identities. Our commitment to ensure supportive and positive experiences for all is designed to have a stronger impact on our student’s life in Rome.

We want to make sure to offer the same resources our students can rely on at home, on their campuses, creating spaces and tools here in Rome to keep focusing on experiences and conversations about social justice, privilege, identity while also offering the opportunity to connect and learn more about Italian culture through discussions about these same topics here. We are working to effectively integrate conversation on diversity and inclusion to all aspects of our program, from extracurricular activities, to academics, to immersive experiences. Student involvement in our initiatives is crucial because their voices, experiences and impact is key to this process.

WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING & OUR FUTURE PLANS TO ENACT CHANGE IN & AROUND OUR COMMUNITY:   

• We have been working more closely with the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Trinity, to learn and discuss about campus climate, but also to create deeper connections with the extended community in Hartford;
• We have attended workshops and seminars on DEI with staff, faculty and students of Trinity Hartford;
• We have attended group practice following training sessions on Intergroup Dialogue;
• We are regularly promoting group readings and discussions on social justice for all staff in Rome in collaboration with Office of Study Away staff in Hartford;
• We will be offering office hours to discuss and promote conversations on DEI on our campus;
• We will actively involve students in the organization and promotion of DEI initiatives;
• We will organize Community Conversation Events on and off campus to promote and support intergroup dialogue and conversations on DEI in Italy and in the United States.
• We will provide students with resources and updates on activities and initiatives happening in Rome via our Compass page each semester.