Statement of Purpose
The Office of Inclusive Excellence fosters efforts to define, cultivate and support an inclusive educational community and workplace environment aligned with the St. Mary’s mission and its Catholic and Marianist identity. The office is committed to promoting community building and partnering to serve the common good. The work is guided by the St. Mary’s mission, the Characteristics of Marianist Universities and Catholic Social Teaching focused on the shared tenets of understanding, appreciation and respect for human dignity and cultural differences.
Inclusive Excellence Initiatives
Marianist Heritage Month
The Office of Mission invites the St. Mary’s community to celebrate January as Marianist Heritage Month with events happening around campus.
New Employee Retreat and Orientation
Thursday, Jan. 9, and Friday, Jan. 10
8 a.m. to 5p.m.
University Center (UC), Mengler Conference Room
Mass in Honor of Mother Adele
Friday, Jan. 10
12:15 p.m.
Reinbolt Hall, Assumption Chapel
Charism in Song: An Evening of Song and Witness to the Marianist Charism
Thursday, Jan. 16
6 to 7 p.m.
Reinbolt Hall, Assumption Chapel
Hanging with the Marianist
Tuesday, Jan. 21
Noon to 1 p.m.
Center for Life Directions, University Ministry Lounge
Merienda Marianista
Tuesday, Jan. 21
3:30 to 5 p.m.
Louis J. Blume Library, Contreras Student Lounge
Marianist Heritage Award Breakfast*
Thursday, Jan. 23
8:30 a.m.
UC, Mengler Conference Room*By invitation only.
Marianist Heritage Mass
Thursday, Jan. 23
11:10 a.m.*
Holy Rosary Catholic Church*11:10 a.m. undergraduate and graduate classes will be canceled for Mass.
Student Lay Marianist Commitment
Sunday, Jan. 26
7 p.m.
Treadaway Hall, Guadalupe Chapel
Marianist Celebrate the Arts: An Evening with Francesca LaRosa, Catholic Liturgical Composer and Musician
Thursday, Jan. 30
7 p.m.
Reinbolt Hall,, Assumption Chapel
Marianist Family Fun Night*
Friday, Feb. 7
7 p.m.
Holy Rosary Catholic Church*By invitation only.
For more information about Marianist Heritage Month events, contact Cindy Stooksberry at cstooksberry@stmarytx.edu
Events
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge the San Antonio River as Yanaguana, (Spirit Waters in Pajalate) as the source of life for this city and commit to protecting her, all her tributaries and connected waters and this land called Texas as Somi Sek to the Esto’k Gna people who are called Carrizo-Comecrudo by the Spanish, today and for future generations.
We acknowledge this place known as San Antonio as the traditional homeland of many Native American peoples who are called Coahuiltecan by Spanish records. 200 tribes/bands/clans were documented in historical records and include the Payaya, Auteca Paguame, Jarame, Pompopa and Borrado, as well as other aboriginal peoples such as the Carrizo-Comecrudo who continue to carry their traditional lifeways.
We acknowledge these Indigenous various communities as the traditional people of this land now called San Antonio, Texas.
We acknowledge this homeland that would later include Comanches and Lipan Apaches in the 1700s, as a place that is now home to nearly 30,000 Urban Indians spanning from tribes across the North, Central and South America who continue to sustain their traditional languages and customs.
Land acknowledgments honor historical links between Indigenous Peoples/First Nations and the territories. This traditional custom dates back centuries for many Native communities and nations. For the last several years, many institutions of higher education and organizations commonly begin meetings and events with formal statements of land acknowledgments.
In these public statements, institutions acknowledge history and express a commitment to current reality and future relationships between the institution, Indigenous Peoples/Nations and the land. For non-indigenous communities, this signifies respect and recognition and honors the traditional caretakers of the land on which we work, live and play. Knowing the unceded land we live on is important because Indigenous history is American history. By learning about the cultures and history of our original inhabitants, we honor their history and counter the narratives of discovery and colonization.
Land acknowledgments alone are but a small gesture and are made more meaningful by authentic and informed actions of support and solidarity with our Native Urban Communities. This is a first step in creating an ongoing intentional practice of amplifying Indigenous voices and moving toward truth and reconciliation. St. Mary’s University is inspired to action by learning a more truthful existence of our Native Urban community through our alliance with the American Indians of Texas of the Spanish Colonial Missions.
About Land Acknowledgements
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.
Employee Affinity Groups
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
Language Resource Directory
The purpose of the Language Resource Directory is to provide contact information for faculty and staff who need assistance communicating with campus visitors during regular business hours. We requested assistance from faculty and staff who speak multiple languages and are willing to be listed in an online directory, and as a result, we have contacts for 11 languages: Arabic, French, German, Hindi, Kannada, Korean, Persian (Farsi), Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Tamil.
The directory is available for students, faculty and staff of the University.
Resources
Students, faculty and staff can find comprehensive lists of organizations for diverse populations and resources to learn about systemic injustices and other cultures.
The resources are available for students, faculty and staff of the University.
Advisory Board
Cody B. Cox, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Industrial/Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior
Greehey School of Business
ccox9@stmarytx.eduLéo Benavides
Counselor
Office of Student Financial Assistance
rbenavides1@stmarytx.eduMike Martinez Jr., J.D., M.S.I.S.
Director Sarita Kenedy East Law Library and Professor
St. Mary’s University School of Law
mmartinez17@stmarytx.eduVerónica Contreras-Shannon, Ph.D.
Professor and Program Director – URISE
Department of Biological Sciences
vcontrerasshann2@stmarytx.eduWendy D. Martinez
Assistant Dean
Office of Residence Life
wmartinez@stmarytx.eduJenee Margo Gonzales, J.D.
Chief Development and Communications Officer
Community In Schools of San Antonio
jgonzales@cissa.orgJanet Guadarrama
Executive Director of Human Resources, Title IX Coordinator
Office of Human Resources
jguadarrama2@stmarytx.eduPaul X. Uhlig, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair of Mathematics, Marianist Educational Associate
puhlig@stmarytx.eduAndre Hampton, J.D.
Professor of Law
St. Mary’s University School of Law
ahampton@stmarytx.eduMarlon Furlongue
Associate Athletics Director, Compliance and Internal Operations
Athletics
mfurlongue@stmarytx.edu
Contact Us
Office of Inclusive Excellence
St. Louis Hall Suite 105
210-436-3616
inclusion@stmarytx.eduStella Silva, Ph.D.
Associate Vice PresidentJulieta Sanchez
Program Coordinator