Skip to content
Clark University
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives

What is #ClarkForward?

The ongoing work to build a more equitable Clark began with #ClarkForward, an initiative designed to guide Clark in building evidence-based strategies to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion across all of the University’s operations.

#ClarkForward, which was developed from the Clark University Survey on Campus Culture and Community during the 2017–18 academic year, has provided valuable insights into areas where Clark can and must improve to become the community we aspire to be.

History of #ClarkForward

  • 2017: Clark University partners with the Higher Education Research Institution (HERI) at UCLA to develop the Clark University Survey on Campus Culture and Community, stemming from the creation of the Committee on Campus Climate and collaboration with the Consortium on High Achievement and Success. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) serves as the campus coordinator for this initiative, and together with the Office of Strategic Analytics and Institutional Research, works with HERI to develop a survey instrument that is adapted to Clark.
  • 2018: HERI analyzes the data and produces a final report released to the campus community in April.
  • 2019: A small team at Clark — Andrew Stewart, assistant professor of psychology; Elissa Chin Lu, director of strategic analytics and institutional research; Jennifer Fells, undergraduate research assistant; and Julia Tran, graduate research assistant — conducts further analysis on the data, resulting in four reports summarizing key data findings based on constituency:
  • 2020: As part of the newly named #ClarkForward initiative, ODI hosts a series of constituent-specific and issue-based forums to foster campus participation on all levels.Later that summer, Clark University launches diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, part of an effort to transform Clark into a fully inclusive, just, and equitable University. The DEI initiatives are developed from input by the campus community, including the forums, reports, and data of #ClarkForward and the Clark University Survey on Campus Culture and Community.