Diversity Committee
The SIUE School of Nursing (SON) shares the university’s commitment to recognizing and valuing the contributions of all people. Respect for diversity, equity, and inclusion is essential to fostering an environment where all individuals can thrive. We acknowledge that all societies and peoples have contributed to the rich mix of “contemporary humanity” (SIUE, 2025, para. 1).
According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN):
Inclusion represents environmental and organizational cultures in which faculty, students, staff, and administrators with diverse characteristics thrive. Inclusive environments require intentionality and embrace differences, not merely tolerate them. Everyone works to ensure the perspectives and experiences of others are invited, welcomed, acknowledged, and respected in inclusive environments. (AACN, 2017, p. 1)
The SON is committed to cultivating an open, respectful, and welcoming climate that supports learning, teaching, and work. Each member of our school plays a vital role in contributing to this inclusive environment.
Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
To promote inclusive excellence, the SON will:
- Recruit and support diverse students by actively engaging underrepresented populations (Alegría et al., 2024; AACN, 2021; Stanford, 2020)
- Promote student success through mentorship, retention efforts, and pathways for academic and professional growth. (Thornton & Persaud, 2018)
- Prepare culturally responsive nurses to deliver inclusive, patient-centered care in diverse communities (AACN, 2021; Brottman et al., 2019).• Foster an inclusive learning environment that acknowledges and adapts to the unique needs of all students (AACN, 2021; Gill et al., 2018).
- Increase faculty and staff diversity by recruiting, hiring, and retaining individuals from underrepresented backgrounds (Ganek et al., 2023; Malespin et al., 2021).
- Ensure policies and programs support diversity by regularly reviewing and refining them to align with equity-driven practices (AACN, 2021; Rosenkranz et al., 2020).
- Encourage open dialogue where all voices, perspectives, and lived experiences are valued and expressed in a respectful and supportive setting (Lane & Waldron, 2021).
- Engage in scholarly activities to identify and address social determinants of health and inequities that lead to disparities and to understand how interventions affect all populations (Corsino & Fuller, 2021; NLN, 2021).
- Apply evidence-based practice to every aspect of our diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, ensuring that our policies, curriculum, and scholarship are grounded in research and best practice (Kersey-Matusiak, 2024; NLN, 2021)
The SON is committed to creating an environment that celebrates diversity, advances equity, and fosters inclusion, both within our school as well as in the communities we serve.
We invite and encourage all faculty, staff and students to attend the monthly meetings. Contact Annie Imboden, committee chair, for details.
Student Nurse Achievement Program
The School of Nursing's Student Nurse Achievement Program (SNAP) is a successful, ongoing initiative that addresses the critical need to increase the numbers of diverse professional nurses in the workforce. Fully funded by a Health Resources and Services Administration Grant, SNAP is designed to recruit and retain racially, ethnically and culturally diverse high school graduates interested in pursuing a Bachelor of Science in nursing.
Diversity at SIUE
For more information on the University's commitment to recognizing and valuing the contributions of a diverse student body, visit:
References
Alegría, M., Thurston, I. B., Cheng, M., Herrera, C., Markle, S. L., O’Malley, I. S., Porter, D., Estrada, R., & Giraldo-Santiago, N. (2024). A learning assessment to increase Diversity in academic health sciences. JAMA Health Forum, 5(2), e235412. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2023.5412
American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). (2021, Feb). Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Academic Nursing: AACN Position Statement. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/0/PDFs/Position-Statements/Diversity-Inclusion.pdf
Brottman, M. R., Char, D. M., Hattori, R. A., Heeb, R., & Taff, S. D. (2019). Toward cultural competency in health care: A Scoping review of the diversity and inclusion education literature. Academic Medicine, 95(5), 803–813. https://doi.org/10.1097/acm.0000000000002995
Corsino, L., & Fuller, A. T. (2021). Educating for diversity, equity, and inclusion: A review of commonly used educational approaches. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1017/cts.2021.834
Ganek, E., Sazon, R. A. P., Gray, L., & Sherry, D. (2023). An introduction to faculty diversity, equity, and inclusion for excellence in nurse education: Literature review. Asian/Pacific Island Nursing Journal, 7(1), e49231. https://doi.org/10.2196/49231
Gill, G. K., McNally, M. J., & Berman, V. (2018). Effective diversity, equity, and inclusion practices. Healthcare Management Forum, 31(5), 196–199. https://doi.org/10.1177/0840470418773785
Kersey-Matusiak, G. (2024). Delivering culturally competent nursing care: Working with diverse and vulnerable populations. United Kingdom: Springer Publishing Company.
Lane, J., & Waldron, I. (2021). Fostering equity, diversity, and cultures of inclusiveness through curricular development. Journal of Nursing Education, 60(11), 614–617. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20210913-02
Malespin, M., May, E. J., Nephew, L. D., Paul, S., McCary, A., Kilaru, S., Mukhtar, N. A., Hassan, M.A., & Brady, C. W. (2021). AASLD deepens commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Hepatology, 74(4), 2216–2225. https://doi.org/10.1002/hep.31918
National League for Nursing (NLN). 2021. Taking Aim: Addressing structural racism, diversity, equity, inclusion, implicit bias & social justice. https://www.nlntakingaimdei.org/Rosenkranz, K. M., Arora, T. K., Termuhlen, P. M., Stain, S. C., Misra, S., Dent, D., & Nfonsam, V.
(2020). Diversity, equity and inclusion in medicine: Why it matters and how do we achieve it? Journal of Surgical Education, 78(4), 1058–1065. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsurg.2020.11.013
Southern Illinois University (SIUE). (2025). Statement on diversity. https://www.siue.edu/about/mission-goals-plans/diversity.shtml
Thornton, M., & Persaud, S. (2018). Preparing today’s nurses: Social determinants of health and nursing education. OJIN the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(3). https://doi.org/10.3912/ojin.vol23no03man05
Villarruel, A. M., & Broome, M. E. (2020). Beyond the naming: Institutional racism in nursing. Nursing Outlook, 68(4), 375-376. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7473708/
