U. to launch search committee to hire Dean for Diversity and Inclusion

After having introduced the position of Dean for Diversity and Inclusion in December 2015, The Office of the Vice President for Campus Life is now reviewing applicants for the position, according to Vice President for Campus Life Rochelle Calhoun.

The position description articulates that a successful candidate must hold an advanced degree, have at least seven years of progressive responsible administrative experience and have demonstrated understanding of the importance of a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment in a university setting.

The position of Dean for Diversity and Inclusion was recommended by the Report of the Special Task Force on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which was released in May 2015. The report was written in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, which became prominent in November and December 2014.

After the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York, as well as the unrest that followed in 2014, University President Christopher Eisgruber '83 and Provost David Lee GS'99 charged a task force to look at issues of diversity, equity and inclusion, Calhoun said.

"One of the recommendations was that there be a senior-level administrator in campus life that would work on diversity and inclusion issues," Calhoun added.

The Associate Dean of the College for Programs of Access and Inclusion Khristina Gonzalez noted that Calhoun had devised a search committee that will be a part of the selection process for the new Dean. This search committee will include undergraduate students in addition to representatives from the Office of the Provost, Office of the Dean of the College, the Graduate School, Admissions and Human Resources.

Undergraduate Student Government President Aleksandra Czulak '16 noted that Calhoun reached out to her regarding the need to have students represented on the search committee. Czulak said she sent an email to all undergraduate students, to which 19 students responded and expressed their interest to be a part of this endeavor.

In response to existing efforts to promote a more inclusive campus, Czulak noted that USG already has a diversity and equity committee, which has spearheaded the Leadership Education Awareness and Diversity Summit. The Summit is meant to train leaders from different student groups in the role of diversity and fostering dialogue and action between communities on campus, she added. However, Czulak explained that this committee is still very young and that the new Dean will be very instrumental in coordinating these student groups.

Calhoun explained that of the other recommendations proposed by the Task Force on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the specific task of hiring a Deanfocused on diversity and inclusion was immediately funded and forwarded to her office. Calhouncame into office in September 2015.

Although the Office of Campus Life gave the official notice that it was searching for aDean of Diversity and Inclusion onDec. 18, Calhoun noted that she had done a comprehensive review of similar positions at other universities.

"I’ve been in higher education for almost 30 years now, and these kind of positions have evolved over time, but existed in different ways," Calhoun said.

She said that what distinguishes this position from similar titles in previous years is that it emphasizes the collective responsibility of all members of campus life to consider diversity and inclusion with a visionary to lead and unify these efforts.

Czulak explained that the number of people interested in being a part of the search committee was incredible and demonstrates how tangible results are emerging from the Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion. She said that the relatively fast timeline reflects the pressure on campus for more diversity and inclusion, as well as the manner in which the administration has acted on these recommendations.

Calhoun said that many other recommendations proposed in the report would become part of the responsibility of the Dean for Diversity and Inclusion. This includes overseeing the Fields Center, working with the Institutional Research Office to study campus climate and working with students and programs across campus to think about how to increase learning about diversity and inclusion for all students.

The search committee is currently at the commissary stage of interviewing people who are semi-finalists, according to Gonzalez. She said that an important characteristic in candidates is having experience with student life centers and being able to provide mentorship to students. She added that the new Dean must also communicate and work with members of the administration.

"We’ve had a great response to our ad, we’ve got very strong candidates and I think we are positioned well to bring a very successful colleague," Calhoun noted.

Evan Kratzer '16, who was part of the group working on structure and support for the Task Force on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, commented that the suggestion for this position was created by the Task Force based on the articulated concerns of the Fields Center, the LGBT Center and other groups. He added it was thought that it would be very useful to have an administrator who could act as a liaison if there was any intersection of programming or issues of diversity between these groups.

Kratzer noted that by comparison to the other recommendations made, the move to have a new Dean was agreed to be a feasible action.

"A lot of the recommendations that we had [in the Task Force report] are a lot larger than could be addressed in the amount of time that has passed since we released the report," said Kratzer.