Charter on anti-racism continues work on equity

UVic has signed the Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion in Canadian Higher Education along with other post-secondary institutions as a commitment to hold ourselves accountable to its principles and actions. 

President Kevin Hall signed the charter Dec. 9 on of behalf of the university in the context of our ongoing prioritization and commitment to decolonization and Indigenization, and in the context of our unique relationship to Indigenous communities on whose traditional lands we are located.

The charter is a meaningful initiative, and we join our fellow academic institutions in this visible commitment. Our own efforts continue. In October we were given approval by the BC Human Rights Tribunal to preferentially hire Black and Caribbean-descent faculty. This allows us to recognize that Black excellence exists in every discipline and research area, and value scholars of Black, African and Caribbean descent for their Black identities, in the understanding that they are not confined to that identity in terms of their potential contributions. We will provide updates as we work on initiatives and accountabilities related to our commitment.

In other equity work, this January we will be inviting our community to participate in the next stage of co-creating a university-wide Equity Action Plan. The consultation and collaborative community engagement will authentically address the barriers experienced by members of our university community and the needs they bring forward. 

In all of this work, UVic is centering justice, humanity and anti-oppression and creating a better university for all, in particular, for communities that have been oppressed, including our Black community of staff, faculty and students.