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 DDCE also provides diversity education training through its Dynamics in Diversity certificate courses.
The Gender and Sexuality Center provides 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 LGBTQIA+ communities through education, outreach, and advocacy. The Multicultural Engagement Center develops leaders and provides training to students on the multicultural and diverse society in which we live. Women in Stem (WiSTEM) aims to close the STEM gender gap by creating an inspired and diverse community of STEM leaders.
The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health funds and advocates for programs in mental health service research and public policy analysis.
Inclusive Innovation and Entrepreneurship uses entrepreneurship as a method for promoting student success on campus and in their careers, collaboration among disciplines, and student impact on community issues through initiatives like Product Prodigy and WIELD TX.
The Longhorn Center for Academic Equity (LCAE) offers a variety of programs and services to assist University students. Programs within the Center include First-Gen Equity, which offers a suite of services free of charge to any UT Austin first-generation college student who wishes to opt in. These services include mentorship, success coaches, STEM tutoring, and many other resources and connections. The Longhorn Link program and Gateway Scholars are student success programs within LCAE designed to facilitate and enhance students’ transition to and through college. The McNair Scholars program is a federally funded program that encourages and prepares students to pursue graduate and professional school. Other initiatives include Global Leadership and Social Impact, the Fearless Leadership Institute, the Heman Sweatt Center for Black Males, RGV Familia, and the Latina/x and Indigenous Leadership Institute. LCAE supports students to complete college successfully and become top-notch competitors in the global job market upon graduation.
The Center for Community Engagement (CCE) 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 John S. and Drucie R. Chase Building pays homage to one of the first Black students at UT, John Saunders Chase. The University purchased the first commercial building that he designed to serve as the CCE East Austin location. It functions as a center for community engagement activities and 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; five UT Youth Engagement 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 Austin grads in 21 schools across the state to serve as college advisors.
The Office for Inclusion and Equity serves as a resource to cultivate belonging throughout the university community. It serves as a learning hub for diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as for restorative justice practices. Its Inclusive Campus Support provides an online mechanism for university community members to share their campus climate experiences that are helpful and/or concerning.
Disability and Access 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.
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 24 campuses around the state that serve approximately 2,000 K-12 students with special needs, including a number of students in foster care settings.
For a more complete listing of DDCE programs initiatives, explore the menu on the DDCE home page.