The Office of Diversity and Inclusion fosters and helps create a sustainable university-wide culture that promotes diversity, equity, inclusion and engagement as essential values aligned with the Felician Franciscan mission and heritage. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion supports the Felician Franciscan mission and heritage by delivering programs that promote and celebrate the oneness of humankind, by encouraging student organizations to form alliances with each other and by empowering students to become culturally responsive.
Our goals are to enhance student engagement, promote an appreciation of diversity, inclusion and respect for persons of all cultures, races, backgrounds, beliefs and experiences, prepare students who will advance as industry-ready members in a multicultural workforce that engage in service for the common good and prepare students for a career in an inclusive global economy.
Madonna University lives out its Catholic and Franciscan mission and values by creating and maintaining an environment where all persons are treated with understanding and respect. The University regards diversity and inclusion as guiding principles. Diversity calls upon individuals to know how to relate to qualities, conditions, and identities that are different from their own and from the groups to which they belong. Members of the University community are expected to respect others inclusive of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, socioeconomic status, age, physical abilities, cognitive abilities, family status, religious beliefs, political beliefs, and/or religious tradition.
The University community guarantees the freedom of individuals to explore their evolving self- identity in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. The University ensures that all persons can participate in and have access to the everyday life of the institution. This deepens the understanding and appreciation of the individuality and circumstances of everyone. Inclusion is essential for the creation of a welcoming environment that promotes respect, hospitality, peace, and justice. At Madonna University, the commitment to diversity and inclusion emanates from the Franciscan values of respect for the dignity of each person, concern for the disadvantaged and oppressed, and reverence for life. In concert with Ex Corde Ecclesiae and Catholic Social Teaching, we maintain that all faiths and all people are welcome here.
The Native American tribe that inhabited the general area which includes what is now known as Livonia, Michigan, before European settlers arrived, were the Potawatomi people. Historical records indicate that a Potawatomi village named "Pojomaka" was situated somewhere in the Livonia area, and Chief Tonquish, a prominent Potawatomi leader, is associated with this village.
A Land Acknowledgement or Land Recognition is a formal statement, often given orally at the beginning of organized events, celebrations, or activities. It recognizes, respects, and affirms that there is an irreducible and ongoing relationship between Indigenous people and the Land. Land Acknowledgements are especially important in contemporary nation-states, like the US and Canada, in which the political structures are based on settler-colonialism and the expropriation of Lands from Indigenous peoples. Land Acknowledgements serve to illuminate ongoing Indigenous presence, as well as recognize and counter settler-colonial legacies of violence and Land expropriation.
This statement can be used as is, or if you can find ways to connect it to your specific field of study, you may do so. This statement can be present in your syllabus and read before presentations or events.
