On May 8, nearly 30 members of the College community attended “Framing Inclusive Excellence as the Future of Veterinary Medicine,” with Dr. Marco Barker. The event was sponsored by the College’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and was a part of this year’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee retreat.

Attendees participated in an hour-long interactive workshop to discuss the importance of diversity and inclusion in veterinary medicine, and how to address issues through a lens that captures diversity. To do this, Barker first defined diversity and inclusion.

“Diversity is about understanding our differences, while inclusion is about being engaged and intentional,” said Barker. “We have to be thoughtful about how everyone’s life experiences make them unique, and think about how they will interact with our systems. We have to think about how we can create policies and practices that apply to all.”

 Attendees made a commitment to strive for excellence in higher education while aiming for diversity and inclusion and discussed best practices for moving forward with this commitment.

Barker is the associate vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion and the chief diversity officer at Westminster College and the founder and principal consultant of Barker Diversity Consulting.