Each UVA IDEA Fund Chair, in conjunction with other Trustees and the Division for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, is charged with identifying and pursuing a multi-year initiative to address an area in which the University would benefit from focused attention to better honor the values of inclusion, diversity, equity, and access. The Trustees then conceive and implement a project or projects to promote this “Big IDEA.” The aim of each “Big IDEA” is not to create a program that the IDEA Fund will support in perpetuity. Rather, the Trustees identify departments, persons, committees, or other established areas of the institution that might take ownership of advocating for and serving the action-items stemming from each “Big IDEA,” allowing its benefits to enmesh in University culture and policy. To date this has entailed a combination of conceiving, implementing, and funding special projects that are organized and funded by the Trustees, as well as collaborating on, advocating for, or co-sponsoring projects by other University groups that share similar aims.
2013-2016 – “Big IDEA:” Early ID Program
2011-2013 – “Big IDEA:” Exploring the University’s Relationship to Slavery
