The Faces of Diversity
Responding to a need that has never been greater, Nazareth is moving toward a brighter and more inclusive future
by Erich Van Dussen
Nazareth President Daan Braveman recalls a picnic he attended last summer for a range of diverse students, including visiting foreign enrollees in the College鈥檚 English Language Institute and incoming first-year students from the Higher Education Opportunity Program.
鈥淎t one point, some students from Peru went over and grabbed the students from Brooklyn, got them on the floor, and the students all just started dancing,鈥 he says. 鈥淭here they were, every color, every religion, every race, and I don鈥檛 know how many countries, and they鈥檙e all just dancing. It was pretty remarkable.
鈥淚 said to my wife, 鈥榊ou know, the world could learn a lot from these students.鈥欌
Learning those lessons鈥攈ow to create a Nazareth community distinguished not only by a truly diverse population, but also by an inclusive spirit that allows all backgrounds to flourish鈥攈as become an increasingly hot topic at the College in recent years. And while everyone involved in this ongoing task acknowledges that the journey has only just begun, the enthusiasm behind the effort is heating up as well.
鈥淲hy is diversity important?鈥
The answer to that question, says Nazareth President Daan Braveman, couldn鈥檛 be simpler: 鈥淚t enriches and adds value to the college experience in every way.鈥
Although the world has always had diverse cultures, he explains, technological advances of the last quarter-century have pushed those cultures to interact to an unprecedented degree. 鈥淒iversity is all around us, live and in person鈥攁nd it is critical that we provide our students the understanding and skills to work with people who are different than they are, to understand what one author calls the 鈥榙ignity of difference.鈥 We have an absolute obligation to do this.鈥
For all these reasons, the decision to add specific goals on diversity to the College鈥檚 2020 Strategic Plan鈥攁 foundational document guiding Nazareth鈥檚 direction into the next decade鈥攚as an easy one.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 the right thing to do, in terms of providing more access and more opportunities for students from very different perspectives, with different value systems and different ethnicities and religious backgrounds,鈥 says Ian Mortimer, vice president for enrollment management. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 also better for the College. The more diverse we become, the better our ability to attract the best and the brightest students from all walks of life鈥攖he future of this country.鈥
Building a diverse campus
Horace Smith, Ph.D., works literally next door to President Braveman, sending a clear signal that the office of Special Assistant to the President on Diversity Issues is a strategic priority at Nazareth.
Smith left his role as associate vice president for academic affairs in late 2013, when Braveman responded favorably to his position paper that articulated a vision for the then-theoretical office. 鈥淗e told me, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 precisely what we want to do鈥,鈥 he recalls. 鈥淭he president has an amazing passion for the goal of building a more diverse and representative campus.鈥
One of Smith鈥檚 current responsibilities is coordinating the rollout of the Young Scholars Program, which has formed initial partnerships with four high schools in this region and downstate New York. Inspired in part by an existing relationship between Nazareth and Brooklyn鈥檚 Medgar Evers School, the program forms pre-enrollment relationships with high school seniors identified as having particular potential for collegiate success. Special senior-year coursework and academic counseling give the inner-city students a college-prep experience more common to affluent suburban school districts.
鈥淲e want to create an environment for students who enroll in this project that will increase the probability of their success and establish an expectation that provides a model for all our students,鈥 Smith says.
Those priorities are shared in other well-established diversity programs at Nazareth. For instance, Khalil Williams 鈥18 cites the Summer Start program for incoming HEOP/Excel students as helping him acclimate quickly to his college life. (The Higher Education Opportunity Program, or HEOP, provides academic support and Excel financial assistance to students from socioeconomically challenged backgrounds.)
Williams hails from Amherst, NY, where the predominantly white population of his high school led him to view Nazareth as comparatively progressive. 鈥淎lthough Nazareth may be a mostly white college to some people, in reality it has so much diversity, ideas, and types of people,鈥 he says. 鈥淚鈥檝e had the chance to meet students from around the world and develop new friendships with people I never thought I鈥檇 be able to relate to.鈥
Minority enrollment at Nazareth has climbed steadily in the last decade among undergraduate and graduate students alike, from 9.4 percent in 2005 to 16.1 percent in the 2013-2014 academic year. Yomayra Guerrero 鈥16 has noticed that trend: 鈥淒uring my freshman year, the only people of color 鈥 I encountered were from the HEOP/Excel Program and maybe a handful of staff and faculty,鈥 she says, but since then 鈥淚 have seen an abundance of diversity from all races and ethnic backgrounds.鈥
Guerrero does note a relative lack of diversity of faculty and staff鈥攁n inequity that is acknowledged by Nazareth administration. 鈥淲e need to do a much better job鈥 in that area, President Braveman says. 鈥淲e鈥檝e seen improvements over the years, but it鈥檚 still something we have to work on.鈥 Department chairs and Nazareth鈥檚 Human Resources team are all committed to broadening applicant pools to ensure the recruitment of talented professionals from diverse backgrounds whenever possible.
Brian Bailey, Ph.D., associate professor of education and director of the Center for Service Learning, would like to see those efforts extend to aggressive minority recruitment of Nazareth faculty and administrators, as well as on the College鈥檚 Board of Trustees. 鈥淭he diversity of our student population has seen a marked improvement in the six years I鈥檝e been here, but if you look at our faculty and the highest levels of decision-makers at the College, there鈥檚 a long, long way to go,鈥 he says.
The inclusivity challenge
If there is a risk in embracing diversity for its own sake, it鈥檚 this: What if you鈥檙e successful in attracting disparate groups to campus鈥攐nly to find they don鈥檛 feel at home?
鈥淎ll forms of diversity are very important to our future,鈥 says Mortimer. 鈥淏ut just because it鈥檚 a diverse place doesn鈥檛 mean all of your students, or your faculty and staff, actually feel included. If that inclusion doesn't happen, you really haven鈥檛 succeeded at what a College should be.鈥
Nazareth鈥檚 Institute for Pluralism was founded a year ago to help address that issue. Its director, Shirley Sommers, Ph.D., was already acutely aware of the need for such a program: As a veteran faculty member and a South African native, she had been subjected in the past to instances of benign prejudice鈥攆or example, when a well-intentioned student assumes a person of color doesn鈥檛 know their way around campus, and offers unsolicited directions.
鈥淧eople tell themselves, 鈥業鈥檓 not biased or prejudiced. Would I be a college professor, or a college student, if I were?鈥欌 she says. 鈥淏ut the unconscious unawareness of our prejudices can create a dangerous risk. We all have prejudices, and when we presume that we are okay鈥攚hen you tell yourself that you don鈥檛 need improvement鈥攊t makes real change very difficult to achieve.鈥
Part of Sommers鈥 job involves offering support for student reports of 鈥渕icro-aggressions鈥濃攐ften comparatively minor offenses that are more reflective of insensitivity than malice. No matter the underlying cause, however, the effects on their targets can be devastating to morale and self-esteem.
As a Muslim faculty member, Muhammad Shafiq, Ph.D., recognizes the potential for faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds to feel marginalized. 鈥淚t is not my personal experience, however,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 think the people of Nazareth are well aware of the importance of diversity, and being respectful.鈥
Sommers says she hasn鈥檛 encountered many concerns that touch on religious bias鈥攂ut instead of adopting a no-news-is-good-news stance, she鈥檚 obligated to consider whether the absence of complaints masks a more subtle issue. 鈥淪ometimes silence just represents a different form of marginalization,鈥 she says. 鈥淧eople might feel they can鈥檛 really speak out, because they鈥檙e not comfortable and feel that their voices will not be heard.鈥
International students can face more subtle challenges, including an intimidation factor that can begin before they even set foot on campus. Janna Jamso 鈥17, a women and gender studies major from Bhutan, says she first learned about American culture from movies鈥攁nd didn鈥檛 know what to expect when she first came to Nazareth. 鈥淚 thought that Americans would be very rude, but they aren鈥檛,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 did have trouble making friends at first, but that is because I鈥檓 really shy. You have to be willing to break the ice if you want to adjust and be happy.鈥
She sees a lack of confidence among international students that can keep them from making friends outside of their sharply identified social groups. In classes, that same phenomenon can result in a student being reluctant to engage. 鈥淭here is a lack of confidence鈥攕ometimes it鈥檚 like they feel they are not smart enough. Unless they鈥檙e asked a question, they won鈥檛 speak up.鈥
Recent wins, and the road ahead
If the occasional potholes have been unavoidable on Nazareth鈥檚 road to diversity, the trip to date has yielded many assorted positive milestones as well. In addition to the increasing diversity enrollment statistics, for instance, the recent introduction of gender-neutral restrooms in key public areas on campus鈥攁ccommodating transgender students, faculty, and staff鈥攈as been 鈥渁 wonderful development,鈥 Sommers says.
Alexander Ives 鈥15G agrees, and praises the College鈥檚 inclusive policies towards transgender students. As an intern temporarily in charge of the newly formed LGBTQ Advocacy and Education program鈥攁 sub-initiative of the Pluralism Institute鈥攈is responsibilities include maintaining a watchful eye over the interests of one of the least visible minority groups on any college campus.
鈥淚f transgender students notify the residence life office, they can live in the residence halls in accordance with their expressed gender, and have private showers and bathrooms. That鈥檚 a big deal,鈥 he says. 鈥淏ut if they don鈥檛 openly self-identify, they can go completely unknown on campus鈥攁nd not receive any of the support that could help them. That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 so important that we create a climate that makes them feel welcome, and safe.鈥
Another major effort now underway is the planning to conduct a campus-wide climate survey in Spring 2015, to probe the state of interactions between Nazareth鈥檚 faculty, staff, and students.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a long time since we鈥檝e had that kind of comprehensive assessment,鈥 says Kevin Worthen, vice president for student development. 鈥淎necdotal reports are always valuable, but I know we can鈥檛 wait to have nationally normed data that tells us not only how our people feel, but also how those feelings compare to other colleges.鈥 That data, Worthen adds, will aid in prioritizing the diversity components of the 2020 Strategic Plan.聽
Until then, Nazareth will continue on the road toward a more diverse and inclusive future鈥攚ith ongoing reminders apparent everywhere of the potential benefits of success.
Erich Van Dussen is a freelance writer in Rochester, New York.
Shirley Sommers, Ph.D., director of Nazareth's Institute for Pluralism
Muhammad Shafiq, Ph.D., director of the Hickey Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue
Diversity Initiatives
Nazareth's ongoing pursuit of a diverse and inclusive campus culture requires the involvement of all areas of the College community.
Note: The Institute for Pluralism was renamed to the Office for Diversity & Inclusion in 2016.