Where All Belong

It is our mission to create an inclusive academic experience and an environment where all students are celebrated and feel like they belong. We have worked diligently to make meaningful progress — and we acknowledge there is always more good work to be done to bring to our campus students and employees with myriad talents, expertise, and world views.

F&M’s Office of Community & Belonging leads several initiatives and partners with a host of offices and clubs at F&M to coordinate their work. Recent milestones and accomplishments include:

  • Receiving the Higher Educational Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from Insight Into Diversity magazine in 2022, 2023 and 2024. The HEED Award is a national honor recognizing U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. 
  • Becoming one of 64 institutions hosting a Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) Campus Center. TRHT Campus Centers play a vital role in the national TRHT effort to address historical and contemporary effects of racism by building sustainable capacity to promote deep, transformational change. As a TRHT Campus Center, F&M hosts programs on racial healing.
  • Partnering with F&M Library to build a list of anti-racism resources.
  • Hosting Inclusion Week and Day of Dialogue, two programs offering workshops and opportunities for dialogue around an annual theme. Past themes have included “Back to Basics: Engaging in Empathetic Discourse," “Vitality @F&M: Feeling Value & Worth,” and “The Intersectionality of Our Identity.” 

Legacy of Slavery banner

  • The Legacy Project, a group of F&M staff, faculty, and students researching our campus history. The Legacy of Slavery report has been completed, but it is a living document located in the archives of our library.  Students and employees are able to add research to this folder when they find new information concerning our history either through an independent study or by joining our Legacy Project committee. Coinciding with this work will be research done by the Legacy Project on F&M and the Civil Rights Era. We will be adding to this research oral histories of our alums who were students on campus during this era.

Bias Incident Response Team

As per Franklin & Marshall College’s Mission Statement, the College’s aims are “to inspire in young people of high promise and diverse backgrounds a genuine and enduring love for learning, to teach them to read, write, and think critically, to instill in them the capacity for both independent and collaborative action, and to educate them to explore and understand the natural, social and cultural worlds in which they live.” In addition to the student experience, we are also committed to a working environment where employees can work with dignity and respect. 

In order to actualize this mission there must exist a climate of inclusion and respect that is free of acts of bias-related behavior. F&M’s Bias Incident Response process aims to support the College’s commitment to creating a welcoming, inclusive and respectful campus community where everyone can thrive — an F&Mily where everyone is treated with civility and respect!

More information about bias incident response can be found on our Campus Bias Incident Response at F&M page.

All community members, including students, faculty, and staff, may use this online form to make the College aware of these incidents.

Please note, this form should not be used to report allegations of sexual misconduct. Those reports should be made using the Sexual Misconduct Reporting Form.

Submit a report

 

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: A Strategic Priority

F&M’s bold and strategic five-year plan (2022-2027), Leveraging Excellence, Accelerating Discovery (L&AD), was created with the input of hundreds of faculty, staff, students, trustees, and alumni, and is designed to advance the College and secure its position, in perpetuity, among the finest liberal arts institutions in the country. One of our five goals is to center diversity, equity, and inclusion as institutional values, transforming F&M’s culture to create a safe, welcoming, and equitable community in which all students, employees, and alumni feel a sense of belonging and are heard.

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Getting Involved

The African American Alumni Council

Founded in 1989, the African American Alumni Council (AAAC) is open to all F&M students and graduates of color, as well as supporters of F&M’s community of color. AAAC engages current students and alumni in a network that connects them to the College and each other through effective and rewarding communication, programs, and events.

Clubs & Organizations

We know a vibrant campus life is a major contributor to your academic experience, and there are many opportunities for you to get involved at F&M. F&M clubs include the African Caribbean Association, the American Sign Language Club, Asian American Alliance, Black Student Union, FEM&M, Hillel, International Student Advisory Board, Mi Gente Latina, Model UN, Muslim Students Association, Sexuality and Gender Alliance, and many more.

Faculty and Professional Staff Affinity Groups

F&M understands that its faculty and professional staff thrive with the right resources and support groups. Among those are The People of Color Alliance, the Queer+Trans Alliance, and DisabilityFPS.

International Life

There is a strong global presence at F&M, with 17% of our students coming from countries outside of the U.S. We value the perspectives of students from different cultures and the richness and texture they add to our campus community.

LGBTQ+ Life

F&M LGBTQ+ faculty, students, staff, and their allies are committed to working toward greater awareness, visibility, and inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community. The Office of LGBTQ+ Student Life; the Alice Drum Women’s Center; Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SAGA); and the women’s, gender and sexuality studies program provide educational, cultural, and social support for LGBTQ+ people at F&M.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness at F&M is a program that works with students, faculty, and professional staff to promote well-being, compassion and a renewed sense of awareness across campus.

Spaces to Gather

Alice Drum Women’s Center

F&M’s Alice Drum Women’s Center was established in 1992 to promote dialogue and action around women’s issues and to create a campus of equality and inclusion. Today, the center continues its mission toward broader goals of inclusion and advocacy along the intersections of race, class, sexuality, gender, and disability.

Black Cultural Center

The Black Cultural Center is operated and maintained by F&M’s Black Student Union and the African Caribbean Association. It is a home away from home for holiday dinners, Kwanzaa celebrations, cook-outs, and group meetings.

Joseph International Center

The heart of F&M’s global community is the Joseph International Center (JIC), a campus space dedicated to bringing the F&M community together across borders, cultures, and languages. The JIC is the primary hub for off-campus study, international student services, and the international studies academic program.

Klehr Center for Jewish Life

Religious Spaces on Campus

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KIVO

Dining

  • Simple Servings, a gluten- and allergy-free station on campus that serves a variety of delicious meals that don’t include any of the top allergens, with the exclusion of fin-fish. The entire dining hall is a nut-free facility, and gluten-free options are available in our retail locations.
  • KIVO (which stands for Kosher, International, Vegan, and Organic), if you keep Kosher or Halal, we have an area in the dining hall. This space is a Star K certified kosher dining facility.
  • Trellis, our entirely plant-based dining option.

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Dedicated Offices

Academic Support

A constellation of tutoring and academic support services are available to you at F&M, many of which are located in one central location on campus. We offer academic coaching, writing support, peer advising, subject-specific tutoring, and much more.

Counseling Services

F&M counseling services work with students experiencing a wide variety of concerns in a confidential and welcoming atmosphere. Our diverse staff of licensed clinicians are experienced with and adept at addressing a broad range of challenges including depression, anxiety, homesickness, interpersonal problems, grief, eating concerns, and academic stress. If we cannot support your specific needs, we'll help connect you to a specialist in the community who can.

Community & Belonging

The Office of Community & Belonging is committed to supporting all members of the F&M community as we promote our mission to be an inclusive and equitable campus. The office leads several initiatives, such as strategic planning and the campus climate task force, and partners with dozens of offices and clubs at F&M to coordinate our work.

Faith & Meaning

College is a time when students seek to deepen their understanding of themselves and others. F&M’s Office of Faith & Meaning provides support and advocacy for religious and spiritual life along with other meaning-making pursuits during this transformative period of life.

International Student Services

As an international student at F&M, you will find an invaluable partner in our International Student Services (ISS) team. ISS offers professional immigration support, advocating for your academic success at F&M by ensuring you are compliant with U.S. immigration laws and processes.

LGBTQ+ Life

Housed in the Alice Drum Women’s Center, the Office of LGBTQ+ Student Life provides educational, cultural, and social support for LGBTQ+ people at F&M.

Accessibility Services

The Office of Student Accessibility Services (SAS) works with students who have disabilities to determine reasonable accommodations and ensure that they have equal access to all aspects of their education.

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Title IX Office

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receives funding from the federal government. F&M’s Title IX office works to ensure the College complies with this fundamental law and fosters a living, learning, and working environment free of discrimination and harassment.

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Anti-Racism Resources

Books

Community & Belonging at F&M

October 14, 2024

Teach for America: F&M Alumni Share Their Stories

As F&M students catch their breath during fall break, eight May graduates are experiencing the other side of the classroom through Teach for America. Current and past Teacher Corps members share their experiences.

October 9, 2024

F&M Receives Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award

For the third consecutive year, F&M has received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from Insight Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.

September 18, 2024

Junior Finds Culture & Community Through Lancaster Internship

When she transferred to F&M, Teagan Durkin ’26 set a goal to become further immersed in LGBTQIA+ culture and community. This summer, she interned with Lancaster Pride and helped plan a record-breaking festival. We talked to her about her summer responsibilities and how they added value to her overall F&M experience.