Claremont Mudd Scripps

CMS Diversity-Equity-Inclusion Committee

OUR MISSION

The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee is a coalition of athletics personnel, including various head coaches, sports medicine staff and faculty representatives from Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd and Scripps Colleges. We acknowledge the significant and vital social resistance in our nation regarding inequalities across race, gender, age, class and a plethora of other identities. We recognize these issues nationally as well as locally, and we are becoming increasingly aware of racial and social disparities in our own backyard. We believe these imbalances can no longer stand and we are obligated to rectify them.

Our staff is determined to combat the previously stated issues as we strive towards developing an athletics environment that promotes diverse representation, creates equal opportunity for all, and offers opportunities for all individuals to be heard and respected. To accomplish this, we are committed to educate ourselves and those within our community, encourage productive dialogue, empower those whose voices have been diminished, and cultivate a more diverse athletics culture for our student-athletes, coaches and staff.

The DEI Committee began meeting regularly in July of 2020. Over the next few meetings, we collaboratively formulated ideas and initiatives directed towards creating our inclusive and equitable space in athletics. To provide targeted areas of focus, we formed three sub-committees: department culture, student-athlete experience and prospective student-athlete and recruiting. Through our combined effort, staff began implementing programming and establishing the foundation for short-term and long-term goals for our department.

Along with our more immediate initiatives, we are currently revising athletics policies, forming an ambassador program for future and current student-athletes, instituting a SAAC Sub-Committee, developing new recruitment and hiring strategies, and instituting student-athlete open forums.

One of our first initiatives was the creation of our DEI Learning Club series, which began in September. The learning club is a monthly virtual gathering of CMS athletic department staff, coaches and other non-athletic faculty from Harvey Mudd and Scripps Colleges. Prior to each meeting, a learning club participant selected an article, film or talk that focuses on a variety of DEI-related topics. During our virtual gatherings, we meet and engage in discussion, facilitated by the individual who proffered said media.

We continue to meet monthly as our full commitee, and multiple times throughout the month with our various sub-committees. We remain driven to pursue and accomplish our goals, which will not only improve the family within CMS Athletics, but also positively affect our surrounding community.

OPERATING PRINCIPLES

Cultivate
Foster a positive learning environment for all athletics faculty and staff. Provide workshops and consistent discussion, resulting in individual and communal growth.

Mobilize
Create an inclusive environment for our student-athletes and staff. Encourage and empower individuals to positively affect their own social and athletic communities.

Sustain
Maintain our forward progress by driving culture and community change for years to come. Our developments will become engrained in our athletic department as CMS continues to pursue our social and athletic goals.