This year’s diversity session at the AACRAO Annual Meeting has a much broader theme than sessions in years past, says Monique L. Snowden (pictured left), PhD, Vice President, Academic and Enrollment Services at Fielding Graduate University and AACRAO Vice President for Access and Equity. “It’s a come-one, come-all session—relevant to all members, and helpful for relationships with students, colleagues and counterparts at other institutions,” she said.
The session, presented by Maura Cullen (pictured right), EdD, Diversity and Leadership, Speaker and Trainer, addresses the “Dumb Things Well-Intended People Say: Skills to Build Diversity Competency.”
“We’re talking about diversity across institutional types, geographies, professions—in addition to race, gender and other identities,” Snowden added. “As professionals who engage in very diverse workplaces and in a diverse association, it’s beneficial for everyone to think about these issues.”
AACRAO: Why is this an important issue for AACRAOans?
Snowden: On the student side, academic and enrollment services professionals are right there at the entry point to the institution as well as the exit points, and many junctures in between. Our relationship and engagement with students needs to be intentional and informed. The same goes for our relationships with other higher education professionals; it’s important for us to be in tune with the way we are communicating and aware of how we’re being experienced by others.
Cullen: I love what Monique said about being the entrance and exit points, because this group of professionals really are the ambassadors of the university. Communication can determine whether or not a student will consider your university—and also the legacy that the university will leave for better or for worse. Unfortunately we often make our mistakes in public, where they can be even more costly—and reflect on the institution as well.
AACRAO: What kinds of “dumb” mistakes do people commonly make?
Cullen: Even well-intended people cause harm. But sometimes, when someone is offended, they don’t know how to talk about it, so they don’t say anything at all. If we don’t talk about it, the anger or doubt remains in the relationship and can affect our work. What happens is we don’t learn from one another. And that’s a huge loss, because our relationships with colleagues can be our greatest professional asset.
One common example is people saying, “I don’t see color. I’m color blind.” This usually said by white folks to folks of color, not realizing how it’s received.
Snowden: When you say “I’m color blind,” this person standing in front of you may take that in many ways, like that you don’t see them or that you’re rejecting their identity. An important thing to know is that everyone makes unintentional missteps in our diversity-related communications—rather than retreating, we need to use those moments as opportunities to learn.
AACRAO: What are the consequences of these communication breakdowns?
Cullen: One big one is staff retention. Departments spend a lot of money recruiting talented colleagues and training them. If we don’t retain them, that’s a poor investment. Retaining a diverse staff also helps attract a diverse student body.
AACRAO: What is to be gained from improving communication around diversity issues?
Snowden: From a pragmatic point, we are able to better fulfill the missions of our institutions—missions that may be strong on social justice and social impact. Some institutional missions specifically call out diversity. It’s not enough to say we’re trying to increase diversity on our campuses. It’s one point to recruit diverse students and staff, it’s another to work toward helping them feel welcome, included, respected, seen, heard, and experienced for all that they bring.
From an association standpoint, it affects how we engage in our association. In Group 5: Access and Equity we have several caucuses, each open to anyone who wants to join. Group 5 leaders are making strides on modeling richer and more effective communications within and between the caucuses. We hope, however, that this session helps spark broader conversations about the ways in which AACRAO members and those on their campuses—with diverse identities and life experiences—might feel misunderstood and marginalized. I’m hoping session attendees will be able to extrapolate from this session and think about different forms of diversity and be more in tune with how we relate to one another—how we’re different but also think about our similarities.
Cullen: One big thing to be gained is enjoyment—we like getting up in the morning and going to work. Collegiality: we see one another as friend, not foe.
AACRAO: What do you hope people take away from the session?
Snowden: It will hopefully create an opportunity for members to have a conversation with someone about something that—prior to this session—they didn’t feel comfortable or prepared to do. We can have immediate results from Maura’s session at the annual meeting. Others are more long term. But all can be deep and affecting about how we value one another and our relationships. This is what an association is all about—strengthening professional ties with each other, especially when we come together.
AACRAO: What do you look forward to at this year’s Annual Meeting?
Cullen: I love Baltimore—I love the Inner Harbor.
Snowden: I’m looking forward to Madeline Albright’s session. I’m interested to hear what she has to say to our membership. I think we have an excellent lineup of speakers.
Also, Maura and I have connected about this session but not met in person, so I’m looking forward to attending Maura’s session and finally getting a chance to meet her.
Register for the 2015 AACRAO Annual Meeting here.