This summer, the Center for Diversity Equity and Inclusion adopted a new name: the Center for Inclusive Excellence and Belonging. According to Dr. Roland Davis, director of the new center, the renaming was the result of a year-long process involving both faculty and students. There were two groups that began meeting in 2024 with the purpose of researching other schools and surveying the Loomis community. 

Dr. Davis emphasized that the center’s new name was the product of careful deliberation. “It was a lot of really hard work,” he said. “We discovered what we felt worked well out there, and what we could apply here at Loomis.” A key influence was the introduction of “Inclusive Excellence” into the name, which allows the center to reach more people. “It’s not just about doing programs for students,” Dr. Davis explained. “It’s about how we think institutionally.” 

Ms. Lilian Castillo de Hutchinson, Associate Director of the Center for Inclusive Excellence & Belonging, stresses the importance of integrating the new center with academics at Loomis. “Inclusive excellence has been a long-standing academic framework,” she explained. “We wanted to make sure every single student and faculty community member sees themselves as part of the work that we do.” 

The new name also connects to the changes in the school’s founding mission. “Loomis’s mission talked about bringing people together from different socioeconomic backgrounds and religious backgrounds,” Ms. Hutchinson said. “Diversity, equity, and inclusion weren’t enough anymore. This new name reflects who we’ve always strived to be.”

Dr. Davis emphasized that the new terminology broadens the center’s outreach capabilities. “You could come from a wealthy community in Los Angeles and be a white person; this work still matters to you,” he stated.

For Cookie Danchaivijitr ’26, PRISM president and member of last year’s committee, the name took some getting used to. “I was opposed to the name at first because the word ‘excellence’ often has connotations of academic perfection,” Cookie said. Other members helped her reconsider that this new name could expand the meaning of excellence and shake off preconceived notions regarding the word.

Many people felt that the addition of the word ‘belonging’ was essential. “It’s a felt experience, but it’s also something we can create and measure,” Dr. Davis said. Ms. Hutchinson agreed, saying, “Students and faculty felt strongly that the word belonging had to be there. We’re not just a diverse prep school—we’re uniquely diverse. We have students from all over the world, of many different faiths, cultures, and identities. Belonging makes it clear that this is about creating space for everyone to thrive.”

Even with the new name, much of the center’s mission will remain the same. “Historically, these programs have focused on racial or religious minorities. But the conclusion we came to is that this work should matter to everyone,” Dr. Davis explained. “A lot of what DEI did was centered on people of color, but this new name reinforces that we’re trying to build a community for everybody, not just certain groups,” Cookie stated. To ensure this change has a positive impact on the community, Loomis appointed a new Director of Institutional Research, Ms. Maria Raviele, so they can run regular surveys on belonging. 

Ms. Hutchinson pointed to other specific actions already underway. “We’re bringing back the Belonging Symposium—a day when students lead workshops for the entire community,” she said. Loomis will also host a major gathering of over 250 educators from peer schools. “We’ve been at the forefront of this work for years, and now we get to share that with others,” Ms. Hutchinson said. 

Looking ahead, the renaming represents a commitment to deepen Loomis’s legacy of inclusion. “We’re still figuring it out—but we’re doing the work,” Dr. Davis said.