From the Nominator

"In direct response to the racist acts in the national spotlight that marked summer of 2020 in the United States, two university advancement employees at William & Mary who were active volunteers on the University Advancement Diversity & Inclusion Committee drafted a proposal for a series of conversations on race and racism in the workplace. Through an iterative process with the full University Advancement Diversity & Inclusion Committee, the proposal became a key task of the committee and morphed into the program, W&M Stands. This initiative engaged our internal advancement staff and some members of our campus community in a series of conversations to support the advancement of our mission through promoting an inclusive community engaged in lifelong learning, in support of a culture of belonging and our university’s mission, vision and values.  

In the weeks between sessions, participants received follow-on resources to continue to explore the topics discussed in each session. Over the course of the year, participants were given the opportunity to explore their own experiences and identities while also considering skills in order to support efforts to make the advancement team a community of belonging, respect, and flourishing.    

In late 2022, immediately after the third session concluded, the University Advancement Diversity & Inclusion Committee chair and an advancement staff member who volunteers their time to lead the committee, worked with the committee to design and organize the sequel to W&M Stands—W&M Stands: Still Standing which is currently underway."

From the Judges

In the post social justice awakening of 2020, many institutions and universities set forward initiatives to engage the community in educating and setting action plans to be more inclusive. The panel was impressed by the multi-phased approach from William & Mary and how they were able to continue the work past the initial learning stages. We felt they took an actionable approach that could easily be replicated across other institutions, even outside of higher education.