The Furman community offers multiple opportunities to connect, celebrate, and learn about diversity and inclusion. Below is not a complete list of all offerings, but provides a starting point to enrich your Furman experience, and is representative of our efforts as a university community to implement our collective goals and values as embodied in The Furman Advantage.

Academic Programs

Academic Programs

At Furman, we’re committed to exploring the cultural dimensions of our global community. That’s why we’ve developed a number of interdisciplinary minors and courses to help you understand the cultures, histories, and intellectual traditions that shape the experiences of people in our growing, pluralistic world.

Office of Spiritual Life

Office of Spiritual Life

Furman is home to a spiritual community that is not only tolerant, but actively engaged in exploring and understanding different religions. There are more than 20 student groups representing different faiths on campus.

Cultural Life Program

Cultural Life Program

The intent of the Cultural Life Program (CLP) is to encourage students to attend a variety of high-quality events that engage students in a spectrum of issues, ideas, and artistic expressions from various disciplines and cultures. Events foster a sense of community on campus and help those in attendance see multiple compelling and legitimate views on cultural issues, inspiring a lifelong pursuit of intellectual fulfillment and cultural engagement.

Dialogue Initiative

Dialogue Initiative

Furman’s Dialogue Initiative provides students with meaningful dialogue-based opportunities to create and support a campus in which students engage in open and constructive dialogue, learning, and exploration concerning issues of social identity, intergroup relations, conflict, and community. For more information contact Claire Whitlinger, assistant professor, Sociology Department.

Center for Inclusive Communities

Center for Inclusive Communities

The Center for Inclusive Communities (CIC) seeks to create a living and learning environment that fosters belonging for historically underrepresented students as well as causes all students to thoughtfully reflect on diversity and inclusion in the liberal arts tradition of engaged citizenship. Staff collaborate with a variety of administrative and academic units on campus to intentionally design a comprehensive, university-wide approach to diversity; facilitate equity, access, and social justice; and empower students to build a diverse and inclusive campus community.

Gender & Sexuality

Gender & Sexuality

Engaging diversity is not limited to our encounters with people from different regional, class, racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. Meaningful difference comes about as well because people experience their genders and sexualities differently from the ways others do. We recognize and celebrate such differences, and provide a number of support services that foster the well-being and happiness of women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and queer students.

Identity- or Cultural-Based Student Organizations

Identity- or Cultural-Based Student Organizations

Furman has more than 150 social, recreational, religious, professional, honorary, and special interest student organizations. All organizations are open to all Furman students.

Library Resources

Library Resources

The James B. Duke Library has an assortment of resources on diversity and inclusion, ranging from books and articles to feature films and journals. This resource includes subject guides for African American and African Diaspora Cultures, Religion and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies.

Riley Institute-Diversity Leaders Initiative

Riley Institute-Diversity Leaders Initiative

The Diversity Leaders Initiative is a collaborative program that imparts deep knowledge and skills to effectively manage and lead increasingly diverse workers, clients and constituents in South Carolina.

Rinker Center for Study Away and International Education

Rinker Center for Study Away and International Education

Furman provides anything but a confined experience. From implementing faculty-led study away programs to creating a welcoming home for international students, the David and Leighan Rinker Center for Study Away and International Education will expose you to a wide variety of cultures, experiences, ideas and people.

Staff Advisory Council

Staff Advisory Council

The Staff Advisory Council acts in an advisory capacity to Furman’s administration, exploring issues, policies and practices that impact staff members. The council suggests new policy initiatives and advocates for staff welfare and development.

Student Diversity Council

Student Diversity Council

The Student Diversity Council (SDC), is the umbrella organization for diversity-focused organizations on Furman’s campus. The council encourages and promotes awareness of cultural diversity among both Furman University and the Greenville community, while aiming to expand and share the responsibility of creating and sustaining diversity efforts to all major campus organizations.

Student Office for Accessibility Resources

Student Office for Accessibility Resources

The Student Office for Accessibility Resources is committed to providing students with disabilities an equal opportunity to access Furman’s programs and facilities.