Endicott College Ushers In 'New Era For Belonging & Inclusion'

BEVERLY, MA — An expanded space unveiled at Endicott College to start the fall semester is designed to usher in a "new era for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging" on the Beverly campus.

The Center for Belonging & Inclusion opened inside the college's former Interfaith Chapel. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held earlier this month to celebrate the new center's mission to serve as the campus hub for inclusive programming, activities and spiritual life.

The Interfaith Chapel was established in 1978 to serve students and community members of all religious beliefs.

"Today represents an expansion — not an eclipse — of that original mission, which is really about community," Endicott Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Brandi Johnson said.

Johnson added that the center's opening builds on this year's academic theme: "Belonging is our sixth sense."

"What we want to accomplish is the sense that everyone belongs," said Gail Cantor, Endicott's Director of Belonging and Spiritual Life. "That's the invitation for diversity to grow, for equity to be considered, and for inclusion to thrive."

The Center for Belonging & Inclusion's opening comes along with several high-profile campus events this fall, all sponsored by the Office for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging.

Those events include: On Oct. 4, disability speaker Christina Irene will give a talk about invisible disabilities awareness. On Oct. 19, former NFL quarterback Don McPherson, author of "You Throw Like a Girl: The Blind Spot of Masculinity," will deliver a talk in the Cleary Lecture Hall.

On Nov. 9, Sean K. Ellis comes to the Cleary Lecture Hall for what is poised to be one of the center’s biggest events. In 1995, Ellis was convicted for a robbery and murder that he did not commit, but spent 21 years, 7 months, and 29 days behind bars.

His story was chronicled in the acclaimed 2020 Netflix documentary series Trial 4.

"The new Center for Belonging & Inclusion will be the campus pillar that exalts that virtue not just this year, but every day going forward," Endicott President Steven DiSalvo said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)