Promoting Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging: Bringing Space into the Dialogue
By Jay Deshmukh
Date
April 20, 2022
Over the past decade, there has been a growing conversation about promoting diversity and inclusion at higher education campuses across North America. The root motivation stems from recognizing that changing student demographics – and increasing diversity – have not been well-reflected in institutional programs and structures. Amid the social reckoning of the past two years, institutions have redoubled their commitments to anti-racism with new strategies for expanding diversity through admission policies, curriculum and course development, representation at faculty and leadership levels and community engagement. And what of their campuses? Can physical spaces be responsive to increasing campus diversity to support inclusion? And further, can the spatial experience – through its configuration, articulation, relationships and materiality – champion a sense of belonging?
It is critical to realize the term “diversity” encompasses a vast array of dimensions, including diversity of gender, ability, cultural background, sexual orientation and age. We must also consider diversity of enrollment: first-generation, part-time, lifelong and commuter. Over the past decade, changes in student demographics have seen the emergence of specific design interventions to address the needs of specific groups. This includes quiet spaces for prayer and wellness, private spaces for mothers and babies, all-gender washrooms, food pantries, updated universal design standards, special learning and testing spaces for neurodiverse learners, community-engaged art installations and multicultural spaces for student groups. Often driven by student advocacy, these are all positive steps, and university campuses have often been at the forefront of these thoughtful inclusions, which then inform design beyond campus boundaries.
An award-winning architect with over 20 years of experience, Jay is a recognized thought leader in institutional architecture of varied scales and typologies, in Canada and overseas. She leads the design, strategic thinking and planning for education projects, and engages meaningfully with clients and stakeholders to define and implement the strategic vision of the project through place-centric design. She is deeply engaged in the arts and design community in Toronto, as a member of the Board of Trustees at the Textile Museum of Canada, and as a frequent guest critic and lecturer at design schools. Presently, she is working effectively from home, leading the design of an integrated health sciences faculty with 5 schools, 26 user groups, and a large multidisciplinary team of professionals.
