Making College Diversity Efforts Sustainable — and Impactful

In recent years, colleges and universities have put diversity efforts at the center of their agendas, creating new roles for chief diversity officers and helping to fuel the rise of equity and inclusion offices on campuses across the U.S. As these offices become established, it's time to ask: How can they help stimulate truly meaningful changes in campus culture? What are the best practices for ensuring that diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts are authentic, sustainable, and — most important — effective and impactful. 

We welcome three leaders with different lenses and long histories in doing the work of advancing equity and opportunity inside organizations. What does meaningful, sustainable diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging look like? How can these efforts spread from the diversity office into the classroom — and how can they help drive student success?

Host

Francesca Purcell, Senior Lecturer and Faculty Co-chair, Higher Education Concentration, HGSE

Speakers

• Sherri Charleston, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Harvard University
• Stephanie Pinder-Amaker, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, and Founding Director, College Mental Health Program, McLean Hospital; Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School, and author of Did That Just Happen?! Beyond “Diversity”—Creating Sustainable and Inclusive Organizations
• Richard Reddick, Associate Dean for Equity, Community Engagement, and Outreach, College of Education, The University of Texas at Austin

Key takeaways and prompts for action:

• Diversity and inclusion are the pathways to institutional excellence — core to the mission of excellence, not an addition to the mission.   
• DEIB should be a shared responsibility, with a shared sense of accountability. What will make DEIB work self-sustaining and self-reinforcing in your context? 
• The work of DEIB is about maximizing the potential of everyone in the community.  
• Dig deep to understand how your organization is inclusive — or not inclusive; how your field is inclusive or not inclusive. 
• Be prepared to listen closely. 

Resources:

• Refocusing on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion During the Pandemic and Beyond: Lessons from a Community of Practice
• Do Colleges Need a Chief Diversity Officer?
• The Role Of The Academic Diversity Officer
• Harvard University Office for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging:
  • Learning Hub
  • Guides and Toolkits
• How to Recognize and Rescind Cultural Taxation