Diversity & Inclusion

We have a robust Cultural Competency curriculum, responsible for hosting over ninety cultural programs in a given year!

The Culltural Competency Committee

Established in 2014, The Cultural Competency Committee is an advocacy group that identifies, recommends, and supports creative strategies for promoting and supporting campus diversity, inclusion, and equity. It works to establish effective and collaborative working relationships between departments, offices, and student groups that will assist in fostering a supportive and equitable environment for the Hun community members.

The Cultural Competency curriculum seeks to connect all parts of the School through programming and shared experiences. As a boarding school with students from all over the world, The Hun School is rich with voices of many faiths and cultures. Supported by a progressive curriculum and dynamic extra-curricular opportunities, Hun students explore languages, histories, economics, politics, and the social relationships between cultures. 

Led by Director of Equity, Inclusion, and Global Diversity Otis Douce and the Cultural Competency Committee, here are some of the ways we do that:

CURRICULUM

Cultural competency is not a single program or initiative — it is woven into the fabric of daily life at Hun. Our work is guided by a three-pronged approach that supports students in building bridges across communities and creating meaningful change within the broader school culture. Through this work, students develop the awareness, empathy, and skills needed to navigate an increasingly interconnected world, build meaningful relationships across differences, and contribute to a more inclusive community.

Here’s a breakdown of our approach:

PROGRAMMING

The annual MLK Leadership Summit is a three-day workshop held over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend for Upper School students seeking to deepen their understanding of diversity, identity, and social justice. The summit invites participants to explore themes of personal identity while building greater understanding across differences. Led by trained student and faculty facilitators, the experience fosters open dialogue, equips students with tools to navigate difficult conversations, and develops the skills needed to engage in conflict with civility, empathy, and respect. Facilitators undergo specialized training with Hun’s Cultural Competency Committee in advance of the summit, ensuring an environment where courageous conversations can take place with openness, curiosity, and care.

Young Women’s Leadership and Young Men’s Leadership, facilitated through the Cultural Competency Committee, have become flagship leadership programs at Hun. These two-year, cohort-based experiences provide intensive and interactive leadership development, guiding students as they explore leadership models, reflect on their own leadership journeys, and examine how identity — including gender — can shape the ways leaders show up in the world. The programs cultivate critically aware, inclusive leaders who understand the importance of leading across differences. Participants have gone on to serve as Student Government leaders, student body presidents, and influential voices across campus, bringing a multicultural lens and a commitment to belonging into leadership roles well beyond traditional diversity and equity spaces

CLUBS & ORGANIZATIONS

Student organizations such as the Hispanic and Latino Student Union, Black Student Union, Gender and Sexuality Awareness Club, Masala Club, and Jewish Cultural Club provide opportunities for students to explore identity, celebrate culture, and engage in conversations about experiences both within the Hun community and beyond. Open to all students and meeting regularly during the school day, these groups foster connection, understanding, and belonging. Even in the Middle School, affinity-based spaces offer students an informal environment to discuss identity and build community.

These organizations play an important role in shaping campus culture, creating larger-scale programming and celebrations such as Diwali, Lunar New Year, La Tertulia, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and other signature events that invite the broader community to learn, connect, and celebrate together.

What’s Happening Wednesday” provides boarding students with opportunities to engage in community programming while giving affinity groups and student organizations a platform to share culture, traditions, and perspectives with the broader community. Programs range from interactive experiences — such as a Black History Month Family Feud hosted by the Black Student Union — to presentations, celebrations, and shared meals. Annual events including the Diwali celebration, Passover Seder, International Week, and Hispanic Heritage Month lunch are among the most highly attended and anticipated traditions on campus.

The Hun School of Princeton Commitment to Civil Discourse

Open dialogue and a willingness to hear others’ views are at the heart of the vigorous, student-centered learning that takes place at The Hun School of Princeton. Civil discourse that promotes legitimate intellectual and political speech is essential to empowering students to thrive in a diverse and ever-changing world and promoting resilient character. All community members are encouraged to expect disagreement and to understand that multiple viewpoints are foundational to the creative and collaborative process. In order to ensure an equitable, diverse, and inclusive learning community, however, community members and guests are discouraged from engaging in speech that is abusive, defamatory, dehumanizing, or harassing. By encouraging students to interact with a diversity of ideas and viewpoints through civil discourse, The Hun School of Princeton fosters the crucial development of empathy, perspective-taking, and critical thought.