Where Do We Go from Here?
In response to last fall’s demonstrations at Ithaca College, some consensus has emerged: many agree that the issues aren’t limited to the events of last fall, that efforts to address them must be ongoing, and that these issues matter a great deal. Progress has been made, but events have shown that more needs to be done.
Today, the college can point to a growing list of tangible steps geared toward a sustainable climate of access and inclusion. All involved in these efforts acknowledge that some of these changes will take time to implement and that the process will be ongoing.
“Over the course of time, everyone has a moment when they will fall—corporations, leaders, academic institutions, everyone—but the true measure of one’s fall is in how you get back up. So I see this moment in IC’s history as an opportunity.”
James E. Taylor '00
Last November, near the peak of campus unrest, Dr. Roger Richardson stepped into the newly created role of interim chief diversity officer. A longtime educator and administrator, Richardson began his tenure at Ithaca College in 2000 as director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs. His doctoral dissertation addressed challenges to black students’ academic and social integration at predominantly white universities.
The ultimate lesson, he says, might be fairly simple: “The Ithaca community now realizes that we cannot maintain the status quo.” Change, he says, “is required.”
Richardson reflected on his past 15 years at the college: “The college’s past efforts were a step in the right direction, but our diversity plans were always competing with other institutional priorities—improving sustainability, lowering tuition, creating new curriculum standards. It was hard to find the resources to complete them and stay focused. Thanks to the recent activist movement nationwide, our diversity and inclusion plans are a top priority. I think that most of the college now understands why these issues are important.”
This winter and spring, a number of formal workshops took place, and informal conversations have sprung up in different departments, divisions, and schools. The theatre arts department gathered 200-plus students, faculty, and staff to engage in dialogue about how they could make Dillingham Center welcoming, regardless of race, sexuality, gender identity, or belief system. In mid-April, Namarah McCall ’16, a student in the School of Music, organized a week of events to celebrate the broad spectrum of diversity at the college (you can also read her speech at the Martin Luther King Celebration concert). The Roy H. Park School of Communications launched a new professionals in residence program to bring ALANA alumni to campus to speak in classes, and the Office of Human Resources anticipates that by the end of the spring semester more than 1,200 attendees will have participated in the diversity and inclusion workshops that the office began offering in the fall.
“Our efforts are not perfect; perfection in this sort of thing doesn’t really exist,” says Karl Paulnack, dean of the School of Music. “But there has been, in my view, truly transformational leadership exerted by members of our student, staff, and faculty communities that inspire me, encourage me, and leave me with a strong sense of ‘We can do this, and we will do this.’”
Jiandani, who conducted the 2011 research on the ALANA student experience at IC, returned to campus in March to present her findings again.
“This work cannot stop,” she says. “We’re here five years later, and we’ll still be working on this in another five years. To be fully inclusive, we need to encourage full participation in the decisions that shape the institution.”
Work still remains, and the college has outlined a set of action items that aims to increase cultural competency among students, faculty, and staff; better support students, especially when it comes to improving bias incident reporting, creating a safe space, and establishing a support network; build a better relationship between students and the Office of Public Safety; and recruit and retain more ALANA faculty and staff.
President Rochon says he’s proud of the steps the college has already taken: “There is an honesty now on this campus that I think is very powerful and deeply moving,” he says. “I feel very positive and optimistic about where we’re going. It won’t be fast enough for some, and others will believe that too much attention is being paid to this issue. But what we’re doing right now, we’re doing because it’s the right thing for Ithaca.”
Woodson, the former IC student government president, says he hopes a proper focus on the long-term challenge will allow Ithaca to “become the standard for true, inclusive institutional change.”
Taylor, whose career is dedicated to helping institutions navigate just such challenges, is hopeful as well.
“Over the course of time, everyone has a moment when they will fall—corporations, leaders, academic institutions, everyone—but the true measure of one’s fall is in how you get back up. So I see this moment in IC’s history as an opportunity,” he says. “This is not easy work. Culture is often difficult to shift, especially in academia. But I have tremendous faith in Ithaca College and in the bright minds that reside on campus that will harness the opportunity to transform Ithaca College into a culturally competent institution where talent and ability are not limited but enhanced by the diversity and cultural expertise that students bring to the college.”
Additional reporting by Ryan Jones
More UNDERSTANDING TOGETHER:
No Longer House Guests by Joseph Ewoodzie '06
Bringing Alumni Together Around Inclusion
Community through Multiplicity by Namarah McCall '16
0 Comments