Virginia Tech Peer Institution Diversity & Inclusion Comparative Study: A Review of Virginia Tech Peer Institutions’ Compositional Dynamics, Organizational Structures, and Assessment, Planning and Evaluation Practices

A systematic review of Virginia Tech’s peer institutions and the institutions’ organizational contexts for diversity and inclusion programs has been undertaken for the purposes of benchmarking Virginia Tech’s processes for assessment, planning and evaluation. Comparative analysis has increasingly been utilized by institutions of higher education to inform decision-making, resource allocation and organizational change (Trainer, 2008). However, little, if any, comparative research has been focused on the organizational structures, programs and processes for the promotion of diversity and inclusion within our institutions of higher education. This study and its findings seek to begin to fill this informational gap and to assist Virginia Tech leadership in supporting its diversity and inclusion structures.