By Samantha Sparich, Contributing Writer
On Sept. 6, Michael Dixon, the chief inclusion and diversity officer at Susquehanna, announced that the Division of Inclusive Excellence would continue to develop as an association and expand its involvement on campus this semester.
According to Dixon, the goal of the Division of Inclusive Excellence, or DIE, is to help Susquehanna be “excellent inclusively.” This means that DIE will focus on students’ intellectual and social development, attending to cultural differences, creating an impact on students’ learning environment both inside and outside of the classroom, and organizing resources to enact the vision of Susquehanna being a place where everyone is treated justly and fairly.
Dixon wants the Division of Inclusive Excellence to “be a leader in transforming our environment” by actively participating when they are informed of injustices.
“Inclusive Excellence implies a commitment to the concept of equity and inclusion as a value for the entire SU community. It isn’t about ticking boxes of diversity training; it’s about taking an honest and unflinching look at how our personal and institutional assumptions either impede or protect the rights of everyone,” said Rabbi Nina Mandel, the interim director of Jewish Life, who is new to the division.
The pre established organizations that were brought together to collaborate at the center are the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, the Office of the Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer, the Office of Jewish Life, and the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life.
Although these various offices were working to educate and inform the Susquehanna community on the importance of diversity, inclusion, and social justice prior to the creation of the Division of Inclusive Excellence, there had previously been a lack of congruity in communicating their ideas and working as a cohesive unit, according to Dixon.
Dixon hopes to change all that.
“They were doing the work … from their respective lenses and not necessarily thinking about the intersection of their work,” he said.
Chaplain Scott Kershner also added that he and his colleagues will emphasize collaboration, by working “to coordinate on all initiatives,” and “be more than the sum of our parts,” as members of the division.
“Because we are working together as a team, we will be able to support each other in proactive steps, not just in responses to emergency situations,” Mandel said, “ We should not have to wait until something disturbing or disruptive happens. And while we need to always have a planned and coordinated response, we also need to lay the groundwork together for respectful interactions.”
Now, as a unit who can gather in the Inclusive Excellence suite in the Degenstein Campus Center, the directors can develop stronger relationships between their various offices and dedicate their collective energies to large-scale programming on behalf of the division.
Two of the initiatives that are already under way by the Division of Inclusive Excellence include a diversity and inclusion orientation for new employees and curriculum on diversity and inclusion for faculty and staff diversity and inclusion curriculum, which was recommended by the CenSUs: Everyone Counts task force.
Every month for about fifty minutes, new employees at Susquehanna gather to discuss the “intersection of their various identities,” including race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and nationality, according to Dixon, who conducts this interactive presentation. First, employees answer the following three questions for thirty minutes: who are you, what do people assume about you, and what do you want us to know about you?
“Those three questions allow people to approach this topic from a more personal standpoint,” Dixon states. “We don’t intellectualize it; we bring it down to the human element and that we are all made up of our experiences and our identities.”
The presentation concludes with a description of the three “Cs” at Susquehanna, which are community, cross cultural relationships, and curiosity.
The faculty and staff diversity and inclusion curriculum, which is planned to take place throughout the fall semester, will allow faculty and staff to take courses organized from level 100s to level 400s, in a much similar fashion to how students’ courses are structured. These courses incorporate education on anti-racism as well as other “-isms” into classes designed to teach faculty and staff about promoting diversity.
“We’re really excited about this curriculum,” Dixon said, “because this allows people to hop in where they feel like they need to do some work … It doesn’t matter whether you’re super advanced or you’re a beginner.”
Through events, such as the Interfaith Curiosity Dinner on October 12 hosted by the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, the Division of Inclusive Excellence will continue its efforts to make Susquehanna a more welcoming and inclusive environment that has the resources implemented to listen to diverse voices.