Statement of Purpose

The Office of Inclusive Excellence at St. Mary’s University practices inclusive excellence in support of St. Mary’s mission as a Catholic Marianist institution, and focuses on preparing students, and supporting faculty and staff to engage in an ever-changing global society as ethical leaders and global citizens that value justice and peace. 

Inclusive Excellence Initiatives

  • Black History Month

    The Office of Inclusive Excellence invites the St. Mary’s Community to celebrate Black History Month, a time to honor the contributions and legacy of African Americans across U.S. history and society — from activists and civil rights pioneers to leaders in industry, politics, science, culture and more.

    Read More about Black History Month
    Join our campus community at various on-campus events

    Movie Mondays — Hidden Figures

    Monday, Feb. 3
    6 p.m.
    The Historic Pearl
    312 Pearl Parkway
    San Antonio, TX 78215

    Learn More

    Melaneyes Media Monthly Black History Series — The Origin of Black History Month

    Tuesday, Feb. 5
    6 p.m.
    The Carver Library
    3350 East Commerce Street
    San Antonio, TX 78220

    learn more

    Black History Film Series — “Miles of Smiles”

    Friday, Feb. 7
    6 to 8:30 p.m.
    Carver Community Cultural Center
    226 N. Hackberry
    San Antonio 78205

    Presented by the San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum

    learn more

    Black History River Tour

    Saturday, Feb. 8 and Feb. 15
    8:45 a.m.     (departure)
    SAAACAM at La Villita
    218 South Presa
    San Antonio, TX 78205

    learn more

    R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Aretha Franklin Tribute Concert

    Tuesday, Feb. 11
    8 p.m.
    Tobin Center for the Performing Arts
    100 Auditorium Cir
    San Antonio, TX 78205

    learn more

    One Beat — Yoga and Drum Circle

    Thursday, Feb. 13
    6 to 7 p.m.
    Leeper Auditorium, McNay Art Museum
    6000 N New Braundels Ave
    San Antonio, TX 78207

    lean more
    Interested in local events?

    Black History Month Resources

    • Hannah-Jones, N. The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story 
    • Wells, I. Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells 
    • Baldwin, J. The Fire Next Time
    • Angelou, M. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
    • Douglass, F. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
    • Larsen, N. Passing
    • Nelson Linck, D. Pauli Murray: Shouting for the Rights of All People
    • Hansberry, L. A Raisin in the Sun
    • Abdurraqib, H., Evans, A. Sing, Aretha, Sing! 
    • Perry, I. South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon yo Understand the Soul of a Nation
    • Madhubuti, H. Taught By Women: Poems as Resistance Language
    • Moore, L. Teaching Black History to White People
    • Hurston, Z. Their Eyes Were Watching God 
    • Gates Jr., H.L., Curran, A. Who’s Black and Why?: A Hidden Chapter from the Eighteenth-Century Invention of Race
    • Williams, S., Engel, T. Your Legacy: A Bold Reclaiming of Our Enslaved History
    Books
    • 13th documentary
    • A Ballerina’s Tale
    • A Raisin in the Sun
    • Agents of Change
    • All In: The Fight for Democracy
    • Barry
    • Becoming
    • Black Panther
    • Da 5 Bloods
    • Dreamland: The Burning of Black Wall Street
    • Freedom Riders
    • Harriet
    • Hidden Figures
    • John Lewis: Good Trouble
    • Just Mercy
    • Malcolm X
    • Marshall
    • Mr. Soul
    • Passing
    • Race: The Power of an Illusion
    • Red Tails
    • Ride to Freedom: The Rosa Parks Story
    • Rustin
    • Summer of Soul
    • The Black Godfather
    • The Color Purple
    • The Hate U Give
    • The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
    • The United States vs. Billie Holiday
    • Till
    • When They See Us
    Movies
    • 1619
    • Black All Year
    • Blackbelt Voices
    • Black Blood Heals
    • Black History Buff
    • Beyond Black History Month
    • Code Switch
    • Dear Culture
    • Go Off, Sis
    • Historically Black
    • In Search of Black History with Bonnie Greer
    • Louder Than a Riot
    • Natal
    • Noire Histoir
    • Pod Save the People
    • Resistance
    • Seizing Freedom
    • The Brown Girls Guide to Politics
    • The Diversity Gap
    • The Stoop
    • Therapy for Black Girls
    • Witness Black History
    Podcasts

Hispanic Serving Institution

Rooted in our mission to serve, St. Mary’s University is a Hispanic Serving institution dedicated to help Hispanic students succeed. As a HSI St. Mary’s offers a wide variety of programs and opportunities for our students.

Learn more about HSI

  • Helping Individuals Enhance Intercultural Competence

    The world we live in is comprised of people from many cultures. Any given day we may interact with individuals from our own culture and/or different cultures. We rely on our personal knowledge, skills and attitudes to think, act and communicate effectively with people from different cultural backgrounds. Intercultural Competence is one’s ability to make sense of and respond to cultural differences.

    At St. Mary’s, we recognize the importance of intercultural competence as a key to inclusive excellence. To help each individual on their personal journey, we offer the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) assessment tool and developmental plan to students, faculty and staff.  IDI aligns closely with our mission to create leaders for the common good.

    IDI assesses intercultural competence — the capability to shift cultural perspective and appropriately adapt behavior to cultural differences and commonalities. After taking the assessment, IDI generates profiles on an individual’s intercultural competence paired with an Individual Development Plan (IDP) — a detailed blueprint for the individual to further develop their cultural competence.

    For more information, email inclusion@stmarytx.edu.

  • Hear the Name, Say it Right with NameCoach

    At St. Mary’s, we value each individual and believe correct name pronunciation is a sign of respect. To continue fostering inclusion, in the classroom and beyond, we are providing faculty, staff and students access to the NameCoach platform which will allow each person to record the correct pronunciation of their name. 

    This animated short highlights the importance of names.

    Ideas for using NameCoach

    • Before a meeting, listen to name recordings if you are unsure of pronunciations
    • Ask students you work with to record their name and to use the recordings to learn their peers’ names
    • Share the Nivedhan video and have a discussion
    • Talk within your work team to discuss ways you might use Name Coach
    • Share the story of your name as an icebreaker and way to get to know each other 
    • Remind students of the NameCoach recordings as a resource before and during group work
    Get started

  • Contact Us

    Office of Inclusive Excellence
    St. Louis Hall Suite 105
    210-436-3616
    inclusion@stmarytx.edu

    Stella Silva, Ph.D.
    Associate Vice President

    Julieta Sanchez
    Program Coordinator

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