Listen to all voices to develop an inclusive community.

Inclusive school communities occur only after the elimination of superficial structures and procedures, and communication is focused on race, culture, differing expectations and underlying values. The entire academic community is responsible for creating an inclusive environment, but it's the leader's role to "orchestrate a conversation in which no one voice is heard above all others, but everyone's voice is heard."

At the Women in Educational Leadership conference held in Lincoln NE in October, three women spoke about the challenges of leading an inclusive school community. They were: Vernita Mickens, VP of operations for Edison Schools; Dr. Dorothy Garrison-Wade, assistant professor of administrative leadership and policy studies at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, and Dr. Jean Jackson, a principal in Las Vegas' Clark County School District. Their wisdom easily transfers to higher education.

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Inclusive environment

"The challenge of inclusiveness remains an epistemological challenge for most individuals," said Mickens. "As leaders, we must create a learning environment where all students feel accepted academically, nurtured, appropriately challenged and celebrated."

When a faculty member doesn't hear all of the voices in her classroom, students become disaffected, act out or quit attending. The same holds true for administrators who don't hear the voices of those whom they supervise.

Diversity is generally done using the salad bowl approach: throw people together and mix. A step beyond that, inclusion means maximizing the potential of every student.