1 Overview of Literature on Chief Diversity OfficersCreated for the President's Task Force on Equity and Inclusion

2 Task Force Charge: Initiate a broad campus discussion and process to determine if a Chief Diversity Officer (called Vice President for Equity and Inclusion at WU) is the appropriate strategy for Willamette to build a more equitable and inclusive environment for our students, faculty and staff

3 Task Force Members: STUDENTS Raina Arberry, CLA Cody Gregg, LawSTAFF Liz Bahe, Director of Native American Programs Jackie Balzer, Special Assistant to the President and Title IX Coordinator (Task Force Chair) Jeremy Bogan, Associate Vice President of Admission Val Cleary, Director of Athletics Janet Jacquier, Area Coordinator  Colleen Kawahara, Director of the Office of the President (Task Force Staff) Tori Ruiz, Administrative Program Coordinator, Student Support & Standards Danny Santos, Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Administration Shana Sechrist, Associate Vice President of Human Resources/Deputy General Counsel (Task Force Vice Chair) Gordy Toyama, Director of Multicultural Affairs FACULTY Jade Aguilar, CLA (Task Force Co-Chair) Warren Binford, Law Emma Coddington, CLA Joshua Laison, CLA Ashley Nixon, AGSM Alexandra Opie, CLA Karen Wood, CLA STUDENTS Raina Arberry, CLA Cody Gregg, Law Alika Masei, CLA Rae Moreno, CLA Lucille Muli-Kituku, AGSM Efren Zamudio, CLA

4 Historical Changes in Higher Education1950s-60s: Increases in # of underrepresented students and faculty and effort to eliminate overt discriminatory practices via affirmative action programs and plans 1960s-70s: Campus protests bring additional academic and social services to under-represented groups, which included multicultural centers and women's and ethnic studies programs 1990s-00s: Broad campus-wide diversity plans/initiatives are created, including curricular "diversity" requirements and holistic admissions to include all members of the community 00s-Current: Increased need for diversity specialists in executive level positions

5 What is a CDO? The Chief Diversity Officer is a relatively new and rapidly growing executive level position in higher education administration that provides strategic guidance when developing diversity capabilities, and seeks to incorporate diversity into the organizational structure of institutions of higher education

6 Currently, campuses have dozens of offices, initiatives, programs, courses, and committees designed to reach ever-expanding institutional diversity goals The job of a CDO is provide leadership to organize and integrate these efforts

7 But…what do they do, exactly?Many things, including: providing expertise on local, state and federal laws related to diversity (i.e. Title IX, ADA or bias reports) offering support for the faculty on developing an inclusive curriculum and research agendas conducting campus climate surveys and suggesting measures for improvement leading/organizing workshops/symposiums centered on diversity advising on best practices for recruitment and retention efforts of underrepresented faculty, staff, and students reviewing and make recommendations for marketing and communication materials providing a lens of "equity and inclusion" into all major university decisions

8 Broadly, that means they raise the visibility of the institution's diversity efforts; clarify goals and assesses progress; and provide expertise on issues of access, equity, diversity, and inclusion

9 How schools differ from one another:(a) in the level and scope of administrative authority given to the CDO (b) in the organizational structure of the offices headed by the CDO (c) the level of fiscal resources ($) dedicated to the unit (d) the level and types of qualifications required to perform the duties of the CDO (e) career tracks prior to becoming CDO

10 CDO compensation varies27% percent income < $100,000 37 income $100,000 to $159,000 22% income $160,000-$200,000 14% percent income > $200,000 From survey of 94 CDOs from range of institutions in 2011

11 Potential Pitfalls Creates a "diversity messiah"- one person solely responsible for equity/inclusion issues on campus Concern that they'll face “passive resistance” from powerful constituencies such as students, faculty, administrators, or alumni Risk that the position will not be given sufficient staffing, power, or financial resources to do the job They may experience tokenization and marginalization, especially if they are people of color themselves

12 In Other Words... CDOs will only be successful where there is/are:supportive campus leaders institutional readiness for change a commitment to long-term, systemic efforts financial investments However, “success” is difficult to define and the above conditions are no guarantee of increased diversity and feelings of inclusion on campuses

13 Sources cited: Nixon, 2013 Williams & Wade-Golden, 2007Witt/Keiffer, 2011