2021 Pursuit of Inclusion Award Recipient: Jess Turuc

Jess Turuc (she/her/hers) has served as the U’s director of Fraternity and Sorority Life since June 2017. Jess approaches diversity, equity and inclusion as a relationship builder, coming from a place of empathy and care, seeking to engage in dialogue that builds the knowledge and growth of others, while continually building her own.

As director of Fraternity and Sorority Life, Jess led the initial planning for the department’s diversity, equity and inclusion-specific education by partnering with staff from Student Affairs on student focus groups to gauge current DEI knowledge, awareness and understanding. From these focus groups, Jess led her team in developing a series of DEI modules to be piloted for the Fraternity and Sorority Life community in the spring of 2022, addressing topics including microaggressions, intersectionality, intent versus impact, whiteness, allyship and more.

On behalf of the Student Affairs Diversity Committee, we congratulate Jess and thank her for her pursuit of inclusion on campus and in the community.