One of the common themes referenced in the news and in higher education journals today is the fragility of democracy, especially in the face of the challenges that democracies are now experiencing around the world. A central issue has to do with the increasing diversity of societies and of the challenge of creating pluralistic democracies that work. Using the language of the specific mission of an institution and understanding how excellence is understood in the context of serving an increasingly diverse society is critical for communicating the centrality of diversity in new ways. This requires understanding building institutional capacity throughout the institution as we have done for decades in building institutional capacity for technology. Key issues related to framing diversity as imperative for mission and excellence include making sure that attention is paid to monitoring progress and the need today to be intentional in building a healthy campus community.