Division of Diversity and Community Engagement
The Division of Diversity and Community Engagement (DDCE) works with a broad range of student, faculty, staff, and community constituents to make The University of Texas at Austin a national model for diversity and community engagement in higher education. The division strives to create an inclusive community on campus that fosters an open and robust learning environment that supports all students, faculty, and staff. It also works to help the University meet its mission of service and create pathways for success for underserved students throughout the state.
The DDCE includes more than fifty units, programs, projects, and initiatives and works in four strategic areas: campus culture, community engagement, pre-K-16 education pipeline, and research.
The Campus Climate Response Team, which features an online campus climate reporting system, is one of the key initiatives in the area of campus culture and is a collaboration between DDCE and the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs. The DDCE also provides diversity education training through its Diversity Education Initiatives.
The Gender and Sexuality Center provide opportunities for all members of the UT Austin community to explore, organize, and promote learning around issues of gender and sexuality. The center also facilitates a greater responsiveness to the needs of women and the LGBTQ communities through education, outreach, and advocacy.
The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health funds and advocates for programs in mental health service research and public policy analysis.
The Intellectual Entrepreneurship Consortium uses entrepreneurship as a method for promoting student success on campus, collaboration among disciplines, and student impact on community issues through internship and mentoring opportunities.
The Longhorn Center for Academic Excellence offers a variety of programs and services to assist University students, including the Gateway Scholars, McNair Scholars Program, Longhorn Link, Fearless Leadership Institute, African American Male Research Institute, Leadership Abroad, and Study Abroad programs. It also features several college to career programs for sophomores and juniors interested in careers in health, law or merchandising.
The Longhorn Center for Community Engagement (LCCE) fosters and supports the development of academic service learning classes on campus and connects students, faculty, and staff to service projects on campus and throughout the greater Austin area. The LCCE includes the Community Engagement Center, temporarily located in Centennial Towers off of Airport Blvd., which serves as a center for community engagement activities and facilitates collaboration around social justice, economic development, education, health care, and equity and access issues. It also houses the Texas Grants Resource Center, which helps students, faculty, and the public find funding for research projects and nonprofit activities.
The Longhorn Center for School Partnerships works with public schools throughout the state to help students from under-represented schools prepare for college. The LCSP includes the Neighborhood Longhorns Program which works with approximately 6,000 Title 1 students in the Austin Independent School District; dual high school-college credit courses in mathematics, chemistry, and writing; five University Outreach Centers in Austin, Dallas, Houston, the Rio Grande Valley, and San Antonio that help students prepare for college; and ADVISE TX, which places recent UT grads in 21 schools across the state to serve as college advisors. This year, a new virtual college advising program is being launched in partnership with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board through the ADVISE TX program, Ask ANDi.
The Office for Inclusion and Equity aids the University in fulfilling the intent and spirit of equal opportunity laws by providing equitable resolutions to complaints and striving for an environment free of discrimination.
Services for Students with Disabilities works to ensure that all students have equal access to the University’s programs and services. Eligibility and specific accommodations are based on appropriate documentation and individual student needs.
Student Diversity Initiatives works with students to create safe environments through two centers: the Gender and Sexuality Center, which provides resources for all members of the campus community to explore and organize around issues of gender and sexuality through education and outreach, and the Multicultural Engagement Center, which develops leaders and provides training to students on the multicultural and diverse society in which we live.
The University Interscholastic League (UIL), created to provide leadership and guidance to public school debate and athletics teachers, has grown into the largest organization of its kind in the world, sponsoring regional and state-wide academic and athletic competitions. UIL reaches every school district in the state and has played a large role in developing young leaders and in providing avenues for success of public school students.
The University of Texas Elementary School is a research-based demonstration school located in East Austin that serves as a training and development site for future teachers, school nurses, speech therapists, social workers, counselors, and psychologists. The University of Texas-University Charter School includes 22 campuses serving more than 700 K-12 students with special needs, including a number of students in foster care settings.
For a more complete listing of DDCE programs initiatives, please see the bottom of the DDCE home page.