Three new aspects to the Diversity Initiative

Two weeks ago, College President H. Kim Bottomly announced that the College's new tri-partite structure to further commitment to diversity inclusion has neared completion.  This structure, she asserted, would bring forth three new parts to the College's administration: in the provost's office, the associate provost and academic director of diversity and inclusion; a new Office of Intercultural Education, to be headed by Dean Victor Kazanjian; and director of employment, diversity of inclusion. The latter post will be held by Carolyn Slaboden, current associate director of human resources and equal opportunity.

This Monday, Feb. 14, Dean Kazanjian expounded on the details of his new post to the student senate.  Kazanjian noted that the key idea behind the initiative was "partnership," and that he believed the new tri-partite structure was the ideal way to fuse the efforts of the multifaith council with those of the academic offices.

"There is no specific goal in mind," Kazanjian said in a separate interview.  "This is about partnership and how these offices can work with students to make multiculturalism a core requirement.  We want to be caught up to other colleges and to establish a program that is on the level that our multifaith program is currently at because quite frankly we're behind."

Kazanjian lauded the program for its elevation of multifaith offices to those of assistant deans.  "It's important that they're finally getting the credit and compensation for the work they're doing as educators," Kazanjian said.

While the initiative eschews any formal mission statement, Kazanjian noted that a goal of his was to get to the root of understanding diversity issues by increasing discourse on "privilege" and "white power."  Kazanjian stressed the importance of students' understanding these concepts in addition to gleaning exposure to other cultures.

"We don't want students to feel the burden of educating other students," Kazanjian said.  "We need a program that starts before students come to campus and that continues throughout the Wellesley experience."  Kazanjian expressed regret that much of the multicultural discourse on campus has been limited to Let Me Speak during first-year orientation and intermittent panels on multicultural issues.

In homage to the existing multicultural institutions on campus, however, Kazanjian expressed a desire to increase the visibility of Harambee House —"not just as a resource for students of African descent, but also as an educational facility for all students."

Kazanjian cites a 1, 3, 5, 10 timeline for implementation of this new education.  This spring will constitute the first planning stage.  After the third and fifth years of the program, broad scale programming that impacts every student is expected to be in place.  By this fifth year, there should be measurable institutional change.  In the 10th year, the College should look different—specifically, the faculty should be more diverse.

With the new tri-partite structure, the College hopes to use frequent student and faculty input to achieve these goals.  Kazanjian has personally met with 40 faculty since appointment to his new post to discuss integration of multicultural issues into both the academic curriculum and campus life.

Some students have expressed concern that the establishment of this new institute would decrease support for students from minority backgrounds, as cultural advisors would be forced to split their time between the two commitments.  Kazanjian acknowledged the concerns, but asserted that this would be far from the case.

"I think there's going to be more support if we can educate the whole campus on these issues," he said.  "We all need to work together."

Many students approve of the choice of Kazanjian for the new position.  "I think it was the best decision to hire an insider for this rather than an outsider. He knows the issues that already exist on campus because he has been the Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life. In addition, he has also been a professor in the Peace and Justice department. He has a lot of experience analyzing social change, so I think he is more than well suited for this position," said Marice Guzman ‘13, a current Senator.

Similar sentiments of resistance arose during the '92-93 school year—Kazanjian's first year at the school—when the Christian and Jewish interest organizations amalgamated into what is now the College's multifaith council.  Students, who were used to the College's Protestant chaplain, were wary of what the new multifaith council might signify.

"Now, the Wellesley College model is something that other colleges strive for," said Kazanjian in retrospect.

In order to devote his full energy to this new position, Kazanjian will relegate some of his responsibilities to a new office in the multifaith center, which is now open for new hires (current chaplains, who as of now hold part-time positions within the Wellesley College community, are welcome to apply).

Kazanjian, in his new post, will collaborate with the two new posts in the provost's office and human resources.  The povost's office will assess educational gaps and possible changes to the College curriculum, while Slaboden in human resources will deal with issues of diversity and equal opportunity among faculty and staff.