Transforming Higher Education through Organizational Meditation: A Story of the Executive Learning Series on Equity & Empowerment

Abstract

Equity, diversity, and inclusion are frequently on the lips of higher education professionals yet we struggle to infuse these concepts throughout the academy as evidenced in challenges recruiting faculty of color, graduating students of color, and hostile environments reported by students. The authors posit that this is because, to date, most efforts focus on transactional engagements like training and recruitment to achieve racial equity when what is also needed are transformational strategies that fundamentally shift how higher education is envisioned. This article describes the Executive Learning Series on Equity & Empowerment (ELSEE), which works not to just promote these values but to embody them and transform the academy (and those within it) through a deeper set of interventions, emphasizing the integration of holistic health, spirit based practice, mindfulness, and other practices of decolonization.