Inclusive Excellence Resources
Inclusive Spaces
Gender-Inclusive Bathrooms
The University has 40 all-gender restrooms on campus. These are open to all community members, regardless of their gender identity or expression.
Find Gender-Inclusive Bathrooms
Gender-Inclusive Housing
The Office of Residence Life offers gender-inclusive housing as part of Saint Joseph University’s mission to be an inclusive community that educates and cares for the whole person. This housing opportunity recognizes the diverse housing needs of students and furthers our commitment to developing safe, inclusive, and welcoming residential communities for all students. Gender-inclusive housing allows interested students to live in the same housing unit with other students of their choosing, regardless of sex assigned at birth, gender expression, or gender identity. Gender-inclusive housing is an option that is available to all students.
Learn More about Gender-Inclusive Housing
Center for Inclusion and Diversity
Learn More About the Center for Inclusion and Diversity
Women's Center
LGBTQIA+
The Alliance
The Alliance is a volunteer group of faculty, staff, and administrators who support community, advocacy, education, dialogue, and mutual respect around sexual identity and gender expression within our mission as a Jesuit Catholic University.
Safe Zone Training
Safe Zone Training is one way to prepare our entire community with the skills, resources and information to support LGBTQIA+ students, staff and faculty. It is open to everyone at SJU and has trained more than 500 people since 2001. f you see a "Safe Zone" sign on campus, this means that the person displaying the sign has gone through Safe Zone Training or is an LGBTQIA+ ally. Students can also register for Safe Zone training.
First-Generation Students
First-generation college students are students whose parents or guardians did not earn a four-year bachelor’s degree. This means that they and their families may have less first-hand information about how college works. Saint Joseph’s University provides support to help first-gen students navigate, make sense of, and thrive on campus.
Saint Joseph's Office of Student Success provides numerous resources to help first-gen students thrive and succeed inside and outside the classroom. Students can make an appointment with Mr. Anthony Carbone, Assistant Director of Student Success. The office also supports additional resources for first-gen students including:
- SJU Jargon Handbook: This handbook is a great resource for first-gen students who may be unfamiliar with college terms.
- Tri-Alpha Honor Society: Tri-Alpha (Alpha Alpha Alpha) is a national honor society for first-generation college students.
Meanwhile, the Office of Learning Resources provides learning support and assists students with their academic transitions and study skills.
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The First Generation Mentoring program facilitates relationships between first-generation students and first-generation faculty/staff/administrators who have offered to provide assistance and support throughout your time at SJU. Mentors and mentees sign up using the links below and connect in person or by Zoom during the academic year on a timeframe that works for their schedules. Mentors can offer advice about being a first-gen student generally and about SJU specifically, as well as help think about what might come after college.
If you are interested in finding a mentor, please browse through our mentor profiles, and complete the Student First Generation Mentee Form.
If you are a first-generation faculty, staff or administrator wanting to provide this important support and guidance, please complete the First Generation Mentor Form. Someone from the mentoring program will be in touch with you soon! If you would like additional information, please email Prof. Elizabeth Lee, PhD.
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At Saint Joseph’s University, many of our faculty, staff, and administrators are also the first in their families to graduate with a four-year college degree.
Wherever you see a #FirstGen College Student pennant, there is a friendly first-generation faculty, staff member, or administrator who can relate to your experience, and would love to meet and connect with you. Knock on our doors, introduce yourself, or ask us any questions you may have. We are thrilled to welcome you to our community of first-generation students, faculty, staff, and administrators, and we want to help you not only succeed, but to thrive.
Diverse Socioeconomic Backgrounds
All students have access to the tools, resources and support they need to have a beneficial and transformative educational experience at Saint Joseph's, regardless of their socioeconomic status. The following resources can be utilized to support students ho are experiencing unmet financial need.
- Financial Aid Office: Saint Joseph's financial aid office works closely with students and their families to find the right financing options and discuss scholarship and aid opportunities. They also host financial wellness programs for students and parents.
- Hawk HUB: HawkHUB, Saint Joseph’s University’s basic needs and resource center, works to address and combat basic needs insecurity in the SJU community. The organization maintains four locations across all three campuses, providing free food, toiletries, school supplies, period products, and other items to members of the SJU community.
- The Career Closet: The Career Closet is free and accessible to all students, faculty, and staff in need of professional attire. The Career Closet is located in the Cura Center and open weekdays 9 a.m.- 6 p.m.
- The Student in Need fund is part of the Student Success Center and provides financial assistance to students for one-time unexpected expenses such as assistance with textbooks or educational materials, meal swipes, or a loaner computer (not including tuition and fees).
Apply for Student In Need Resources
- Operation Tampon: Operation Tampon stocks period products in bathrooms across our campuses. Cura Personalis. Period.
Individuals of All Abilities
The University is committed to providing all community members access to all campus programs, services, activities, employment and other opportunities. The resources below are devoted to enhancing the campus environment and experiences for individuals of all abilities.
- ADA Reasonable Accommodation in Employment Policy
- Disability Documentation Criteria and Guidelines
- Syllabus Statement for Students with Disabilities
The Office of Student Disability Services (SDS) provides accommodations and support services to eligible students. They use an interactive, individualized process to establish appropriate accommodations based on a one-on-one meeting and a review of any supporting documentation you provide.
Interfaith Resources
As a University in the Catholic and Jesuit traditions, Saint Joseph’s celebrates religious diversity and promotes intellectual, ethical, and spiritual understanding. That commitment to exchanging diverse ideas reflects in the range of spaces on campus for meditation and religious worship. These interfaith spaces provide a home for many forms of worship and community building.