Ellucian Launches its first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Council

When Camilla Collins joined Ellucian as Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in 2021, she had one nonnegotiable position: "Only if the opportunity is about action and moving the dial forward will I be a part of this team — this company — because we're not just checking the box."

Through a partnership with Ellucian's executive team, the company has met that challenge. In 2023, Collins spearheaded the launch of the DEI Council, composed of 18 employees (most of whom are executive sponsors of Ellucian's 11 Employee Resource Groups), chaired by President and CEO Laura Ipsen, and vice-chaired by Collins and Chief People and Communications Officer Greg Giangrande. The Council works across regions and business units to amplify employee voices and meet organizational needs with action. Its work supports Ellucian's DEI strategy, designed to drive meaningful change through representation, education, accountability, and partnerships.

The Council plays a leadership role in all four of Ellucian's DEI strategic pillars.

Representation

In partnership with the People team, the DEI Council is working to ensure employee demographics reflect higher education learner populations, indicative of the many voices, beliefs, and experiences encompassed in student populations today.

Education

The Council sanctioned global language around DEI for all employees and the organization. The Council is also taking an active role in Ellucian's Real Talk Series (RTS), year-round discussions on DEI topics. Council members host and participate in sessions and take findings back to their business units for implementation and further discussion.

Accountability

Each of the Council's 18 members serves as a steward of Ellucian — responsible for ensuring that the group's impact is far-reaching, positive, and sustainable. By focusing on data and developing metrics to show the impact of various initiatives, the Council is designing an accountability structure to advance DEI progress at the company.

Partnerships

Building upon the robust internal effort to diversify and streamline hiring and onboarding, the Council is focused on fostering external partnerships as a critical element of its strategy. Ellucian's existing relationships with organizations like Blackstone Career Pathways, Vista's Intern X and Year Up, which help individuals from historically underrepresented backgrounds compete for career opportunities, are examples of the type of partnerships the Council plans to cultivate as part of its efforts to support a diverse workforce.