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Syracuse University’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion hosted a forum Monday that invited faculty, students and staff to gain insight into diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility efforts being implemented on campus.

The forum, held in Schine Student Center’s Goldstein Auditorium, reviewed an updated list of goals from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, which included enhancing the sense of belonging on campus, recruiting and supporting diverse students, staff and faculty as well as advancing institutional DEIA infrastructure.

Each of these goals was matched to focus on aspects included in SU’s DEIA Strategic Plan. Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Mary Grace Almandrez announced that ODI will begin releasing an annual report on its reach and engagement and have consistent website updates to highlight its goals.

Almandrez and Vice President of Student Transition, Access and Inclusion Dawn Singleton also spoke at the forum about their roles as DEIA leaders for the university.

Both Almandrez and Singleton were hired into their positions recently, with Almandrez hired in May 2022 and Singleton hired in July. The forum was an opportunity for both leaders to give more details about the projects they are working on and give insight into how these initiatives coincide with their own identities and personal experiences.

Suzette Meléndez, faculty fellow to ODI and Office of Strategic Initiatives in Academic Affairs, said she looked forward to Monday’s forum so that she could participate in the discussion about future actions. Meléndez helped organize the ODI’s DEIA Symposium in October.

“We can sit around a table and talk about all these principles. They’re taking it a step further, and they’re engaged in the doing of it, so I think it’s important to have events like this following this symposium,” Meléndez said. “VP Almandrez has a philosophy not to make this a one-and-done, she wants to continue in real ways that are not performative but actually leaning into action.”

Almandrez said some initiatives that resulted from last year’s DEIA forum are now in place, like continuing improvements for the Native Student Program building on 113 Euclid Ave. The building will have a grand opening Nov. 6. ODI’s Disability Access Team will be establishing new methods for reasonable accommodations for SU staff with disabilities, free American Sign Language lessons for staff members and a staff mentoring program, Almandrez said.

The center will also host future fall and spring mixers for affinity groups on campus to create a sense of community. An affinity group is a shared community amongst students with similar personal or professional interests based on mutual purpose or identity.

Eboni Joy Britt, executive director of strategic communications and initiatives for ODI, said these upcoming events are demanding to work on but rewarding.

“To be able to have the charge to put these events on for campus and then each and every time really be overwhelmed by the response to it is very gratifying and it just proves how dedicated our campus is to continuing this work,” Britt said.

Adia Santos, a graduate student in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and former vice president of SU’s Student Association, said it was empowering to see two women of color leading executive decisions regarding DEIA, especially after being involved with #NotAgainSU during her undergraduate years on campus.

“I have very little faith in the majority of the administration and leadership on this campus … I’ve been here for a while so I’ve seen how long institutional change takes to actually be done,” Santos said. “But, VP Almandrez and Singleton, for as far as I can see, are two of the most faithful, passionate and dedicated women I have probably seen on this campus in a while, so I have all my faith in them to be able to execute their duties and responsibilities of their offices.”

Along with the updates on campus DEIA initiatives, the forum included a Q&A discussion where Almandrez asked Singleton about her new role and how her experience as a woman of color in a leadership role has played into her job.

In Singleton’s responses, she focused on the importance of addressing individual students’ needs in order to implement change.

“We are (going) to create sustainable change and the only way to do that is to continue dialogue,” Singleton said. “But what’s really important … for me is sitting at the table to say, ‘Okay, well, this is happening, this isn’t happening, I hear your concern about this, how do we move forward with this?’”

Published on October 24, 2023 at 12:05 am