Dana Commons

Dana Commons houses two offices promoting and nurturing a bias-free campus — the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and the Office of Identity, student Engagement, and Access — as well as the Center for Gender, Race, and Area Studies, an interdisciplinary academic hub for many identity-based programs, and the Higgins School of Humanities. Students can use Dana Commons for club and organization meetings; attend campus lectures and events on the humanities; use the prayer and meditation room; or join a conversation at the fireside lounge.

Media Gallery

Diversity & Inclusion

🤝🏽 Diversity & Inclusion

At Clark, we work every day to build an inclusive learning environment that links with our academic mission to build new knowledge and seek truth everywhere. Our university is dynamic, multicultural, and always striving to be better.

Office for Identity, Student Engagement, and Access (ISEA)

The Office for Identity, Student Engagement, and Access (ISEA) enhances access to community and resources for students to ensure they know they belong and can thrive during their time at Clark. Through intentional mentoring, identity-centered experiences, and spaces that build community, we advocate for and empower students to find their voice and provide support to actualize their potential.

ISEA currently supports students who identify as:

- Students of African American/Black, Latine/Latinx, Asian/Desi-American, Pacific Islander, Native/Indigenous, and Multiracial descent
- Students in the LGBTQIA+ community, exploring their identity as it relates to gender and sexuality, and larger gender diverse population
- First-generation college students*
- Student populations who may need support and new resourced initiatives may expand over time.

*At Clark University, first-generation is defined as an individual whose parents/guardians did not complete a 4-year degree. This does not include siblings.

Center for Gender, Race, and Area Studies (CGRAS)

The Center for Gender, Race, and Area Studies (CGRAS) is an academic hub at Clark University consisting of the interdisciplinary programs of Women’s and Gender Studies, Genocide and Human Rights Studies, Asian Studies, Latin American and Latinx Studies, Africana Studies, Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies, and Peace and Conflict Studies. Our core mission is the study of diverse, disadvantaged or marginalized societies and populations with an emphasis on how to promote social justice.

Affinity Spaces and Groups

ISEA provides formal affinity spaces for students of color that meet bi-weekly each semester. These programs are meant to be empowering and supportive spaces, consisting of speakers, interactive workshops, and discussions.

Queer & Trans Students of Color (QTSOC) seeks to support students in exploring the intersectionality in their lives with a particular focus on race, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. The goal is to build community and create an inclusive space to question and dialogue using our personal experience, queer theory, culture, and activities.

FOCUS and Sisters in Stride (SIS) are two programs meant to be an empowering, supportive space for man-identified and woman-identified students of color, respectively. Through bi-weekly sessions consisting of speakers, interactive workshops, and discussion, facilitators focus on providing mentorship and cultivating community among underrepresented students.