By Ryan Allen Wight
President Johnson started in his position here at Western New England University in the Fall of 2020, which was during the first several months of the Covid-19 pandemic. Shortly after his arrival, ideas that would eventually become the JEDI Initiative began to be discussed.
“Starting in the midst of [Covid-19] was an interesting endeavor… While we were navigating through [the pandemic], we were also planning for the future,” President Johnson expressed to me in his office the other day. He told me some voices had argued for the immediate hiring of a Chief Diversity Officer.
“No, what are we going to hire them to do?” Johnson emphasized the importance of understanding the issues at our University, the “stress points.” He noted that the administration continually gathered qualitative information and addressed any problems as they arose on a case by case basis, but “what [he] wanted to put in place was a system.”
The JEDI Initiative comes largely from the desire not “to check a box and say we’ve ‘done diversity.’” Rather, it can be an intentional effort with substantive effects, one that “could create a more inclusive community where everyone feels welcomed, connected and celebrated, regardless of who they are or who they identify,” as expressed by our Assistant Dean for Inclusive Excellence, Yvonne S. Bogle.
“With full committed participation, it may be successful and create a different campus culture,” Bogle continued. Participation in what? More than one area of campus is still confused about the details of the initiative, so what exactly does it mean, and how does the campus community need to be involved?
The JEDI Initiative consists of a few different things that will be explained below. At the overarching, philosophical level, it aims to understand and subsequently transform the culture at Western New England University in order to improve the student experience and enable a sense of belonging and security in every member of our campus community.
As put by President Johnson, The JEDI Initiative must be something that “ultimately creates the best environment for you, our students.” Further, it already intends to take specific steps toward its ends; one of those steps will be diversity training for all faculty and staff, starting this Fall 2022.
There are other concrete steps. President Johnson plans for his administration to do more to bring “diversity among our faculty and staff ranks… to create diversity in terms of socioeconomic diversity within our student body… to create a more inclusive environment and a sense of belonging.”
When asked about the relationship between socioeconomic diversity among students and financial aid – since socioeconomic diversity among students is one of many examples of diversity and is consequently a goal of this initiative – Johnson expressed clear intention to raise money for scholarships: “I’m sure that will be part of our next capital campaign; [the launch of] which has not been identified… five years out, seven years out, we oughta be in a place where we have diversity in all of its forms.” Johnson also mentioned that the University focuses on recruiting students who have the financial ability to attend.
Though not directly a part of the initiative, another concrete step being taken is the hiring of a Dean of Students. Vice President of Student Affairs, Kristine Goodwin, will be launching the search and will ultimately be responsible for hiring the best candidate. All committees of this nature will include “Undergraduate, Graduate, and Law School representation,” Johnson assures.
In addition to the concrete steps already in motion, on February 21 the Chief of Staff, Dr. Curt Hamakawa, announced the optional “campus-wide survey of students, faculty and staff” from March 22 through April 19. Johnson describes the purpose of the survey phase of the JEDI Initiative: “In order to really evolve a culture, you have to have a baseline to understand where the organization is.”
Prior to taking actions regarding justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging on campus, administration wants to hear from the community and understand its demographics of beliefs, experiences and issues. Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. Kristine Goodwin, expressed how she feels “proud to work at a university that is willing to go beyond words, one-and-done programs, and checking boxes, and to… ensure all members of our community have equitable access, are treated with respect and dignity, and know they are valued by the University…” Goodwin continues, “We have to know where we are to know where we need to go which is why the JEDI survey… is so important.”
Goodwin also speaks on what the JEDI Initiative is and what should follow the survey phase, saying that from her “perspective, and in [her] opinion… [it] is an organized and sincere analysis of the extent to which we are, and are not, practicing justice, equity, and inclusion… in our policies, procedures, practices, and relationships—followed by a detailed action plan, with benchmarks and a timeline.”
Our University sent out a request for proposal (RFP) at the beginning of the Fall 2021 in order to contract an organization that would help accomplish the mission of the JEDI Initiative. Meet Dr. Sam Museus from the National Institute for Transformation and Equity (NITE), who on February 17 gave two different presentations via zoom in Rivers Memorial Hall addressing the topics of JEDI, cultural transformation on college campuses, and the role of culture in education.
Dr. Fajr Muhammad, Marketing Chair for the Black Student Union, came away from the February 17 presentation glad to have seen “the students and staff who took initiative to sit through the session and get the understanding they needed.” Also hoping to see “more mindfulness and inclusivity in the classroom…” Muhammad told The Westerner that “if the JEDI Initiative is taken seriously, there could be serious change around campus.”
NITE, under Museus’ leadership, will “gather all of the data and crunch the numbers,” Johnson clarifies, “We own the data. This is not like something they’re doing off in a far far land; they tell us what they come up with and we go from there.”
NITE will be working closely with Western New England University’s Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Maria Toyoda, Human Resources Officer, Monica Bradley, and Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. Kristine Goodwin; faculty and staff, employees, and students are all represented, respectively. The University will be engaged with NITE for two or three years.
Data gathering is NITE’s first role in this process, and these surveys “will ultimately give us a roadmap as to the issues we need to address,” Johnson clarified. During the survey phase this Spring, the University will be searching “for someone to lead this effort; I don’t know that I’ll call them a chief diversity officer – I don’t particularly like that title.”
By the time an individual is hired for this new position, this “roadmap” will have been established, Johnson explains, and it “will be incumbent upon them and the campus community, also working with the firm that we have with us, to create a plan—that impacts students, faculty, staff, administrators, our vendors and anyone else…”
In the Fall 2022, a committee will be put together under the new person hired, and they will be tasked with plan creation. United & Mutually Equal President, Anu Mustapha, considers the JEDI Initiative “a good start for [WNE] when it comes to diversity and equity,” but any committees involved with this process need to have “students with different background[s].” If diversity and representation is the focus, this should be apparent and honored as committees are put together.
What might it look like to achieve the ideals of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion on campus? “Diversity is not just about race – it’s about a whole plethora of things,” Johnson explained, “To the extent that we evolve the culture… [to] where everyone has a sense of belonging… we don’t have to try to ‘do [diversity]’ — then, diversity just is… Inclusion just is. Then, social justice and equity, it just is.” However, when we “try and do social justice, and we try and do diversity — that’s not the path; the path is to evolve our culture.”
While this piece features some student voices, it mostly works with administration to define what the JEDI Initiative means. Not feeling comfortable speaking on the initiative, not understanding what it is, not having had time to learn about it or not having heard of it at all – these are common sentiments.
Clearer communication – structured in its presentation and made tangible by putting its ideological goals in terms of specific, actual changes – is necessary for the campus community to grasp the meaning of the initiative; for any positive cultural shift to occur, people must first understand the ideas driving that shift.
The surveys will also increase community understanding; knowing the questions that are being asked will give students insight into the focuses of the initiative. As understanding increases, The Westerner intends to feature more student impressions and opinions. Additionally, you can visit The Westerner website at thewesternerwne.com to read about impressions from faculty and deans
Taking the surveys and taking them seriously could benefit the campus community; remember, surveys open March 22nd!
