We are firmly committed to providing a safe and respectful environment for everyone on campus and to rooting out the underlying causes of systemic racism on campus and in society as a whole. We are a single, united community and without reservation, we condemn racism, harassment, racial slurs, and discrimination.

The University of Ottawa has undertaken a number of concrete actions and initiatives to combat racism and discrimination. We invite you to go to the Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence website to learn more about what we’ve already done, and what we intend to do, to become a more inclusive, welcoming university that is proud of its cultural and racial diversity.

In response to the damaging discriminatory experiences reported by several members of the uOttawa’s Black, indigenous and racialized communities, we are introducing five new initiatives designed to combat systemic racial discrimination in the three key facets of the University’s mission: student experience, teaching, and research. 

These initiatives prioritize five separate areas of activity on campus, with the goal of achieving transformative results in each: 

1. Providing better support to members of the University’s racialized communities, including establishing a mentorship program, providing dedicated mental health resources, and improving the financial aid available to students from racialized groups. 
2. Accelerating the hiring of Black, Indigenous and racialized faculty members in the coming years. 
3. Reviewing programs to enrich their curricula with practices (methodologies) that are more culturally diverse and inclusive. 
4. Designing and implementing anti-racism and anti-oppression training activities for the University community. 
5. Creating a support program for researchers from racialized communities to build a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive community of researchers at the University. 

These new initiatives draw on the many suggestions submitted over the years by racialized members of the University community during public meetings and other consultations. 

On November 18, 2021, the University of Ottawa joined 40 other Canadian institutions in signing the Scarborough Charter to combat anti-Black racism and promote Black inclusion in post-secondary institutions in Canada, thereby reaffirming its commitment to combatting racism against Black individuals and to fostering their inclusion on campus.

The University acknowledges the role that institutions of higher education have played in constructing the bodies of knowledge about historically excluded groups and its ethical responsibility to give voice to alternative ways of knowing while supporting community capacity building.

“The University of Ottawa is committed to developing and implementing concrete transformative solutions to combat systemic anti-Black racism, and to promoting Black excellence and inclusion in our pedagogy, our research, our governance, and in the student experience,” said President and Vice-Chancellor Jacques Frémont. Read the full Gazette article on the Scarborough Charter.

In December 2020, the University announced the appointment of Professor Boulou Ebanda de B’béri as special adviser on anti-racism and inclusive excellence. This appointment is a concrete step the University is taking to combat racism and make our campus a welcoming environment for all members of our community. Read the full article on the Gazette.

Mandate

The mandate of the Special Advisor, Anti-Racism and Inclusion includes:

• Exercising strategic leadership on anti-racism and inclusion, and being the public face of the University of Ottawa on this issue;
• Working with the Human Rights Office, faculties, services, and all student groups to achieve the anti-racism and inclusion goals;
• Raising awareness and communicating anti-racism and inclusion actions and priorities on campus;
• Communicating with various stakeholders across campus and in the broader community;
• Recommending appropriate structures that will equip the University of Ottawa to make progress on anti-racism and inclusion.