Achieving Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access in an Increasingly Divided World

The University of Connecticut (UConn) School of Public Policy and the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) Standing Panel on Social Equity in Governance would like to invite you to the 2024 Social Equity Leadership Conference (SELC), hosted at UConn’s Stamford Campus (30 miles from New York City). The National Academy of Public Administration’s 2024 Social Equity Leadership Conference seeks to identify means of advancing social equity policies despite growing political divisions on diversity and equity matters.

National opinion polls indicate that some people believe that we “should promote traditional social and moral values” while others show “greater tolerance of diverse lifestyles and backgrounds” (NBC News Poll, April 26, 2023). In 2019, the Academy identified Foster Social Equity as one of 12 Grand Challenges in Public Administration.

The Program Committee remains committed to the principled and social justice basis for social equity policies and seeks to enlist more support within the polarized political climate. How can we promote social justice, racial, ethnic, and gender equity and promote LGBTQIA+ rights in the midst of these divisions? While it is easy to argue in favor of social equity and social justice from the standpoint of principle, we should also embrace the pragmatic reasons for supporting social equity policies.

The 2024 SELC aims to amplify the benefits of DEIA to the economy, the workforce, organizational culture, and the communities we serve. The conference will also seek to feature social equity policies and programs to demonstrate their efficacy and their replicability in other communities.