Office of Diversity & Community Life

Diversity does not happen in isolation. In order to create a truly diverse community, all members play a significant role. It is an institution-wide commitment that welcomes administration, faculty, staff, students, parents, alumni, and the community at large to participate. I invite you to help build on USN's long-standing history of celebrating diversity and community. Please join us in this challenging, yet vital work.

Let's spend the year considering the privileges we have as a diverse institution. Start Where You Are, But Don't Stay There: Understanding Diversity, Opportunity Gaps, and Teaching in Today's Classrooms by Richard Milner, IV states these five areas as crucial in "helping educators bridge and shed light on opportunity gaps": Color blindness, Cultural conflicts, Myth of Meritocracy, Low Expectations and Deficit Mind-­Sets and Context-Neutral Mind-­Sets.

The NAIS cultural identifiers are: ability, age, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status (class), body image (lookism), educational background, academics/social achievement, family of origin or family makeup, geographic or regional background, language, learning style, beliefs (political, social, religious) , and globalism and internationalism.

We are a better institution when we acknowledge these identifiers; the whole person and all the identifiers (and in our case, especially, the intelligences) of each individal person. We are a better institution when we acknowledge that everyone matters.


I look forward to working with you,
Roderick White
Director of Diversity and Community Life

Office of Diversity & Community Life News

List of 5 news stories.

  • 2nd Annual HBCU Fair is August 26

    University School of Nashville invites all public, private, and charter high school students and their families to meet admissions officers from historically Black colleges & universities and "The Guide to College for Black Families" authors Tim Fields and Shereem Herndon-Brown.
    Read More
  • Celso Thomas Castilho, a Vanderbilt University history professor and director of The Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and LatinX Studies, speaking to HS Spanish Topics: Cultura students.

    HS Spanish looks at culture through World Cup

    Juniors and seniors enrolled in Spanish Topics: Cultura welcomed Vanderbilt University Associate Professor of History Celso Thomas Castilho in their exploration of cultures in the Spanish-speaking world through soccer.
    Read More
  • Harper Phillips '24 mans a booth at International Club's potluck lunch held in February.

    International Fair postponed

    In light of the tragedy at The Covenant School this week, USN High School students have postponed this annual celebration of cultures and countries. Once students decide, we will follow up with a rescheduled date.
    Read More
  • Black Book Club bulletin board by the HS Black Student Union

    Books can help you celebrate Black history all year long

    Black History Month may be drawing to a close, but you can read great books by Black authors all year long. Continue reading for some highlights from our library collection.
    Read More

  • Join schoolwide Black History Month celebration on Feb. 24

    After School and High School's Black Student Union are teaming up to host a Black History Month celebration on Friday, February 24 from 3:30 to 6 p.m. in the Sperling Center. All University School of Nashville students and families are invited to enjoy this event featuring food from Black-owned restaurants, performances, and activities.
    Read More
Archive

Upcoming Events

List of 5 events.

  • The Educators' Cooperative

    Gage
    Fink
    Victoria
    Yuan
    Wolfgang
    Lindblom
    Gordon Wing - Gordon Multi-Purpose Room - 1145
    Greg O'Loughlin/Erik Mash

  • The Educators' Cooperative

    Gage
    Fink
    Victoria
    Yuan
    Wolfgang
    Lindblom
    Gordon Wing - Gordon Multi-Purpose Room - 1145
    Greg O'Loughlin/Erik Mash

  • The Educators' Cooperative

    Gage
    Fink
    Victoria
    Yuan
    Wolfgang
    Lindblom
    Gordon Wing - Gordon Multi-Purpose Room - 1145
    Greg O'Loughlin/Erik Mash

  • The Educators' Cooperative

    Gage
    Fink
    Victoria
    Yuan
    Wolfgang
    Lindblom
    Gordon Wing - Gordon Multi-Purpose Room - 1145
    Greg O'Loughlin/Erik Mash

  • The Educators' Cooperative

    Gage
    Fink
    Victoria
    Yuan
    Wolfgang
    Lindblom
    Gordon Wing - Gordon Multi-Purpose Room - 1145
    Greg O'Loughlin/Erik Mash
View All Events

2021 DEI Report

Meet the Staff

List of 1 members.

  • Photo of Roderick White

    Roderick White 

    Director, Office of Diversity and Community Life
    615 277-7480
    Trevecca Nazarene University - BA
    Nashville School of Law - J.D.
    Started at USN: 2015
University School of Nashville is committed to creating a campus environment that mirrors the cultural and ethnic composition of greater Nashville. Diversity is a fundamental part of USN’s identity, reflective of the school’s core values.

We believe that with diversity comes a responsibility to value individual differences and provide a safe space for inclusion and positive interactions among all members of the USN family. Through its actions, USN is committed to fostering the broader life experiences that diversity makes possible.

–from Trustees’ Statement of Policy: Diversity

University School of Nashville

2000 Edgehill Avenue   Nashville, TN 37212     615/321-8000     Contact Us
Directions & Maps