A Warm Welcome
It is our pleasure to welcome you to our vibrant, diverse and radically welcoming community here at Elmhurst university. While a simple welcome seems woefully inadequate, we hope you will soon feel the warm embrace of a campus committed to supporting your journey to personal and professional attainment of whatever goals you have for your future. As you enter through our gates of knowledge, know that you have found a place where you belong and where every possibility is waiting for your arrival.
Our mission in the office of equity and inclusion is to fully embrace who you are today and the person you choose to become as a result of your Bluejay experience in the future. You have arrived during an exciting time in the history of the university where we are renewing our commitments to nurturing a diverse, inclusive and accessible learning environment where who you are is as important as what you will be learning in our classrooms, laboratories and athletic fields. For more than 150 years, we have been proudly building an institution that welcomes the immigrant, widens the circle for inclusion and equity and enlarges the foundations of meaning through our connections with the United Church of Christ, our global partners and world-wide network of alumni and friends of the University. We want to thank you in advance for assisting us in expanding our ideas about who we are, what we are to become and how together we will shape the next century of progress for Elmhurst University.
Whether you are here to browse the possibility, begin the process of discernment or affirm the wise choices you have made as a Bluejay, know that wherever the world takes you next, there is a place where you belong here at Elmhurst University.
Welcome to our home.
Visit the Office of Equity and Inclusion
Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI)
Elmhurst University is a designated Hispanic-Serving Institution, or HSI as of January 2022. This designation opens the door to provide our Hispanic, Latinx and underrepresented students with a successful Elmhurst experience. Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) are defined in Title V of the Higher Education Act as not-for-profit institutions of higher learning with a full-time equivalent (FTE) undergraduate student enrollment that is at least 25 percent Hispanic.
United Church of Christ
Elmhurst is affiliated with the United Church of Christ, the first mainstream American church to ordain an African American pastor, a woman and an openly gay man, The Reverend Dr. William R. Johnson ’68. In the spirit of the UCC’s commitment to social justice and inclusivity, the University is open and welcoming to all.
Support and Resources
- Our Office of Diversity and Inclusion fosters an environment that values, respects and celebrates the diverse identities represented at Elmhurst University and beyond.
- Our Office of Access and Disability Services provides a wide array of services and accommodations for students with developmental disabilities.
Student-Led Groups
Student organizations such as the Black Student Union, HABLAMOS, Asian Club of Elmhurst and Queer Straight Alliance promote understanding, awareness and inclusion. These groups are open to students from all backgrounds.
Events
Elmhurst celebrates campus diversity with a variety of events that spark conversation and raise awareness. Student-run activities include the Big Queer Gathering and National Coming Out Day, while our annual religious lecture series provides a forum for scholars representing a variety of religious traditions.
Academic Programs
The major in intercultural studies (ICS) encourages students to examine cultures, power, privilege and cross-cultural interactions. You can focus your ICS coursework in an area of particular interest, including African American studies, Latin American studies and LGBTQ studies.
We are committed to cultural diversity, mutual respect among all persons, compassion for others, honest and open communication, and fairness and integrity in all that we do.
Elmhurst University Core Values