Celebrating CulTUral Uniqueness (CCU)
The Initiative
Under the leadership of Dr. Schumacher, in 2016 Tiffin University (TU) embarked on an initiative called Celebrating CulTUral Uniqueness (CCU), now called CCU@TU. The initiative began as a focus to strengthen our approach to diversity and inclusion in order to be able to demonstrate a culture of openness to diversity of thought and action; not because we were not doing so, but because we could do better. TU administrators, faculty, staff and students wanted to show a strong attitude for embracing, welcoming, and celebrating diversity and inclusion and, moreover, become known internally and externally as an institution that educates, develops and prepares individuals for the realities of the world in which we live and work.
Why Celebrating Uniqueness?
Culture is defined as “the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music, and arts.” (Zimmerman 2015).
At Tiffin University, we have more than one culture at play; the campus culture and the individual culture each person encompasses.
We call the now commitment to Celebrating CulTUral Uniqueness our response to diversity and inclusion not only because TU’s culture is unique from other academic institutions, but because we are all unique. Uniqueness is to be understood, respected and celebrated.
Today, we pledge to our students that regardless of area of specialty, they will graduate as innovative problem solvers who can leverage diversity of any type to work effectively with people who are different from them and produce innovative ideas.
Reference
Zimmerman, K.A. (2015, February 19). What is Culture? Definition of Culture.
Retrieved from: www.livescience.com/21478-what-is-culture-definition-of-culture.html
I learned so much from the Celebrating Cultural Uniqueness training. I could tell that the things the facilitators were teaching us were grounded in theory and backed by research, and that was nice to see. It was also really nice to hear from my coworkers and find out about their stories and where they are coming from. My favorite part of the training, though, was finding out how much Tiffin University values uniqueness and varying perspectives. I have never worked anywhere where this was such a priority, and it is really refreshing. It made me feel like I am part of something really important.
At a Glance
