A Welcome from STH’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Office
The School of Theology DEI Office: A Work of Relevance and Reverence
Legacies are complicated inheritances. They provide the scaffolding of our communal life together, yet they often carry histories of exclusion and oppression. Like many social institutions in our world today, the North American church and the academy are currently reckoning with their troubled histories, and the School of Theology is at the convergence of these parallel transformations. Our goal as a School is to engage the moment wholeheartedly rather than reluctantly, grounded in our dual legacies of Christian spirituality and transformative justice. This is a work of pressing relevance to the conflicts, inequities, and injustices plaguing our world; and a work of reverence, for both the legacies we carry and the bodies and spirits of those excluded and oppressed.
The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion exists to aid the School of Theology in its stated commitment to build on legacies of liberation and transformation, and to dismantle oppressive legacies in the church and the academy. We especially focus on the recruitment and support of those historically excluded from these spaces, including women, people of color, immigrant and international students, LGBTQIA+ persons, people with disabilities, and first-generation students and scholars. As our community has grown to include more people from these groups at all levels, the DEI office works to facilitate their flourishing in this space, through educational events, listening sessions, and working with the Deans, administrators, and faculty to improve policies and procedures.
The DEI Office consists of a Director, Nicolette Manglos-Weber, and an Associate Director, Rev. Andrew Kimble. Manglos-Weber comes to this work as a sociologist and social ethicist, with extensive experience working with people across cultural differences and a deep understanding of institutional dynamics. Rev. Kimble approaches this work as a skilled and compassionate leader who centers ethical reflection and discernment that promotes the health and flourishing of all people. As a team, we welcome engagement from all members of our community, and we especially encourage student groups to reach out and partner with us in our shared goals.
You can reach the STH DEI Office at: sthdei@bu.edu.
You can also drop in to chat with:
- The DEI Director (STH Rm 440) during her drop-in hours, from 12:30 to 2:30 on Tuesdays
- The DEI Associate Director (STH Suite 109) by appointment via email aekimble@bu.edu.
We also welcome the community to our first event of the year, “Naming the Hidden Curriculum: A Panel Conversation with STH Faculty, Administrators, and Students.” Join us for a conversation about how the “hidden curriculum” within higher education affects the experiences of our diverse student body; and how to make the “hidden” aspects of academic culture more explicit, in the service of equity and inclusion.