Inclusivity and Institutional Change in Education: A Theologian’s Journey

Do you want to implement diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at your institution, but you don’t know where to start?

In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, a small Catholic secondary school erupted in controversy. Students and alumni took to social media to share stories of their own experiences with racism on campus. It was clear that the school’s culture needed to change.

Enter Sr. Colleen Mary Mallon, who joined the high school as the director of mission formation. Pursuing grassroots institutional reform, Sr. Colleen found a new meaning of theological education.

In this candid volume, Sr. Colleen reflects on the challenges of molding her Dominican school to embody its charism of veritas. This commitment to truth required her school and her Dominican sisters to recognize their complicity in white supremacy and to center the concerns of marginalized communities. Educating faculty, staff, administrators, and parents in Catholic Social Teaching equipped them to bring their actions--and the culture of the school--into alignment with their professed values.

Sr. Colleen’s story offers one example of how schools can implement antiracist and antibias reforms. With its wealth of practical insights and discussion questions, Inclusivity and Institutional Change in Education will guide readers in effecting cultural change in their own institutions.

Colleen Mary Mallon, OP, is a theologian, educator, and animator of mission formation. She holds a PhD in systematic and philosophical theology from the Graduate Theological Union and has taught systematic theology at the university level. She currently serves as a director of adult mission formation for the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose.