A Global Approach to Navigating DEI in American Higher Education: Integrating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

The sociopolitical agenda against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) sweeping the United States continues to censure initiatives, resources, services, curricula, and specific topics of discussion among higher education community members. Simultaneously, change agents and organizations insist that we consider the human condition from a local to a global level, particularly the United Nations, which aims to achieve peace, dignity, and equality for all. The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development established 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets aimed to demonstrate the scale and ambition for strengthening our planet, people, prosperity, peace, and partnerships connected to global challenges. Considering the conflicting messages between the United States’ state-/national-level anti-DEI agendas and the United Nations’ global agenda for sustainable development, a call for action must be made for educators to situate their students in learning that develops their civic and global citizenship. In learning about global and systemic challenges that we all should aim to address (i.e., access to quality education, justice, and social infrastructure), students’ understanding of the SDGs in the context of not only other countries, but also the United States, serves as a catalyst for developing change-seeking behaviors and reframing the anti-DEI agenda to mirror the intent of the SDG goals centered around universal DEI. As such, this essay aims to liaise educators, curriculum designers, and students with the SDGs’ history, influence, and potential to transform higher education teaching and learning while addressing DEI-related topics.