Equity and Diversity Program coordinator Grace Montero (left) and administrative fellow Ileana Casellas-Katz inside Grays Hall, the newly renovated space where students can find support, resources, and leadership development.

Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer

Campus & Community

Inclusion is the key

2 min read

Grays Hall opens doors to renovated space for students

Harvard College’s Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, which includes the Office of BGLTQ Student Life, has already settled into its new home in Grays Hall.

This past year, the offices moved into the renovated space in the ground level of Grays Hall. The redesigned area includes a lounge, conference rooms, all-gender restrooms, and a “serenity room.” A passageway known as the “activity thread” connects a variety of common areas where students can gather.

Image 1: Interns Sunah Chang ’20 (left) and Joy Nesbitt ’21 share a quiet moment in the “serenity room.” Image 2: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion administrative fellow Ileana Casellas-Katz (from left) talks with Chang and Nesbitt in one of the common spaces in Grays Hall.

Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer

“The new space provides such a great opportunity to be able to support both offices, and provides really valuable resources for our students” said Roland Davis, associate dean of students for diversity and inclusion. “It’s so great to see the way students have already begun to embrace the new space and take advantage of it, and we’re looking forward to seeing more and more people here as we continue to promote it.”

One of the key upgrades is the inclusion of a ramp leading to the entrance. “The new space is fully accessible, which is really a reflection of the values of our office,” said Sheehan Scarborough ’07, director of the BGLTQ office. “It helps to emphasize our message that everyone is welcome here.”