COMMONWEALTH COMPACT

On Friday, May 23, 2008, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick spoke at the public launch of the Commonwealth Compact. The Compact, being convened by the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies at UMass Boston, seeks to increase diversity in the Bay State by encouraging people of all races, religions, nationalities, and genders to live and work in Massachusetts.

Lesley University is proud to be a founding signatory of the Commonwealth Compact, and the first higher education institution to sign. As part of its mission, Lesley strives to serve the evolving needs of its students and our diverse society, while underscoring the importance of social justice. Among the core values supporting our mission is equity, which compels us to value and respect the unique backgrounds and capacity of individuals and communities.

In service of our mission and values, Lesley seeks to enroll and support the academic success of students from diverse backgrounds, and to incorporate diverse perspectives throughout a curriculum that is not only academically sound, but also reflects the complexity of the human condition. The University aims to recruit and retain a diverse range of faculty, staff and administrators and to create a just and supportive workplace where all can engage in shared governance of the Lesley community. Working with the leadership of the University’s Board of Trustees, Lesley seeks to develop a board that is diverse in terms of geography, ethnicity and professional expertise.

Recognizing our responsibility as local and global citizens, Lesley University endeavors to build strong partnerships with organizations that serve underrepresented and diverse populations, to the mutual educational benefit of our students and members of these organizations. The higher education sector makes critical contributions to the intellectual, economic, and social vitality of Massachusetts, and must play an equally vital role in assuring that higher education opportunities and benefits are accessible to all citizens.

We are proud to be part of the Commonwealth Compact, and pledge to work toward the goals by using the benchmarks to assess our progress.