Diversity Statement

whites, brown and yellow”. Down the street lived Mr. B an old man with a small electric motor repair shop in a garage at the back of his lot. Mr. B, like Mr. O, was willing put up with me visiting (pestering) and watching him while he worked. Mr. B not only diagnosed, dissembled, rewired and repaired electric motors of all sizes, but built complicated tools and fixtures to make the repairs possible. Mr. B also gave me a gift, his farewell: “See you later. Keep your eyes open to wisdom.” Mr. B was blind.

​

In junior high we moved to “the farm” so that my father would have a place to have his trucks and equipment for his small drywall business. We had about 15 acres, a few fruit trees, barn and pasture for two steers, a pony and my horse (Penny). Two of my dad’s employees were “C.D.” (Charles Daniels) and “Rosy” (Roosevelt Washington); they became familiar faces at our home even though these two men were an uncommon sight in our community. They were tall, very muscular, had deep baritone voices, rich southern accents and were black. Much to my delight both were terrified of my horse, to the point where if I came back from a ride and they were in the yard they would jump in the truck and roll-up the windows. I asked my mother why the fear and she explained that both men had grown up in a big city, never experienced horses or many of the things we have—but we haven’t experienced the things they have. She told me that people are people but that each person’s experiences shape them in different ways.

​

Due to some catastrophic business decisions (resulting in the closing of my father’s business), we moved from the farm to the city where I attended a college prep high school in a very well-healed community. Again, broad ethnic diversity wasn’t a virtue but passive acceptance was the norm. In my sophomore year a new family moved into my neighborhood and Mark would be attending the same school as me. In the summer prior to the start of school Mark and I became fast friends, even though he was a year younger than me. Mark and his family were accepted; as another friend’s mother explained, “his (Mark’s) father is a doctor and his mother is a lawyer, they dress nice and seem to be well behaved”. This was clearly in conflict with my world understanding, didn’t speak to being a great day for the races nor being open to wisdom. The following year they moved away. I remember talking to Mark prior; he told me that both he and his family wanted to be “closer to their own people”. He said we would keep in touch, regrettably it didn’t happen.

 

College, dorm life and varied social experiences gave me not only an education but served to broaden my worldview. I became involved with Student Government and became a Resident Advisor in the dorm. I managed a coed floor in a complex that housed 1000 students; although predominately white there were also black, Jewish, and Hispanic students on my floor. Interestingly, all but four were freshmen; their first experience living away from home and with others “different” than themselves. I experienced and witnessed varying degrees of prejudice, tolerance, and acceptance. Again, profound evidence “that people are people but that each person’s experiences shape them in different ways”. Later, I became a Complex Advisor in the International Dorm for the summer term. The dorm was one of the older dorm facilities on campus, not air- conditioned, coed by floor, with community bathrooms, no cafeteria, and about 250 students. Most residents were enrolled in the language institute, others were in remedial classes, and all were international students from Africa, Kuwait, Israel (Israeli and Palestinian), Oman, and India. It was a true mix of culture, religion, class, language and experiences—all living together in a shared environment with four American (white, two male and two female) advisors. We had, and successfully defused, some minor conflicts, moments of miscommunication and instances of culture clashes, but on the whole were able to create a sense of community and well-being despite deep undercurrents of distrust and prejudice.

 

After graduating, I started my career as a manager of a trade association and was offered the opportunity to go to Lesotho (pre-Apartheid southern Africa) for five weeks to consult at a furniture manufacturing facility. Lesotho is a democratic kingdom completely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa, with few natural resources and expatriates from across Africa. During my briefing prior to departure, I was told that I would be one of seven (known) white people currently in the country. At the factory we had predominately natives of Lesotho, employed alongside those from South Africa proper, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Batswana; cultural and language barriers were common. Being white I found myself being judged quickly; the most significant hurtle was confirming that I was not a white South African and the second was that I was there to assist not boss. What I was not aware of was the profound dislike/distrust of white South Africans and the degree of viscous mistreatment and prejudice that was a nearly constant force exerted by them. I had never experienced or seen blatant, outspoken, deliberate prejudice before, but there I was—being white and being judged guilty on the basis of my skin color. One trip into South Africa provided me with a life-changing perspective. Needing to buy some parts to repair one of the machines and confirm delivery of a shipment of materials I took the Plant Manager, Henrique (Mozambican) and the Office Manager, Rafrigue (Basotho) into Bloemfontein. The moment we arrived at the hotel I was directed to enter the front entrance; they were told to enter the side entrance in the unsavory alleyway. I was spoken to pleasantly and politely in English; they were spoken to angrily in Afrikaans interspersed with occasional comments in English about their stupidity, appearance and color. They were being subjected to abuse only due to their color. They didn’t know or care that Henrique had a Master degree, was fluent and literate in seven languages, was a father, husband and was exiled into Lesotho because of being falsely accused of a crime in Tanzania. Rafrigue was once a teen in training to become a Catholic nun in South Africa before she went into exile in Lesotho after being sexually assaulted by a priest and excommunicated. None of that mattered, only their color and the fact that they could be verbally abused and belittled at the whim of a white hotel agent. For the first time in my life, I was ashamed of being white and horrified that people could or would treat another human being with such vile intentions.

In my career as an educator, I have had the privilege of learning from and teaching students from widely varied backgrounds, economic, social and cultural, each with the objective of finding their voice and growing into a career. At Kendall College of Art and Design I hired, mentored and befriended a transgendered student as she pursued her degree (non-traditional, second career seeking student). Following her graduation, I hired her as an adjunct faculty to teach drawing at Kendall. There was some resistance on the part of students to accept her, she was being judged by her identity rather than her enormous talent and technical ability. Surprisingly, there was also resistance on the part of some faculty as well, even from those who expected tolerance, acceptance and respect for their own sexual orientation. 

 

At Harrington College of Design (HCD) I endorsed and provided support to the student LBGTQ community and faculty to design and build a float for the Chicago Gay Pride Parade. Also, I supported our students by walking with them in the parade. My demonstrated commitment to having direct involvement with students has extended well beyond welcoming them at the start of each semester. Those students that were first in their family to attend college were visited, I attended class project reviews and acknowledged and celebrated their success. Those students that were returning to school to be retrained or start a new career were selected for recognition in exhibitions and we provided opportunities for mentorships by alumni. When a student (Romanian, first generation college student) became a victim of homicidal domestic violence we provided immediate professional grief and trauma counseling and followed up with domestic violence/sexual assault training for all students, faculty, and staff. One of my highest honors at HCD was to present her family with her diploma, although posthumously presented, it was deeply valued by her father and the entire HCD community. 

 

Later, at the University of Bridgeport, I joined a very diverse campus with over 80 countries represented by the faculty and student body; its commitment to diversity is one of the reasons I chose to join them as Dean of the Shintaro Akatsu School of Design (SASD). I gave direct attention to recruitment and retention of SASD students working with the Universities registrar, admissions and international students’ office to monitor and track students’ success and reporting. 

 

As a leader and educator, I practice Servant Leadership (SL) and Design Thinking (DT) in my interactions and activities, professionally and personally. Both of these disciplines hold empathy as a first tenant, not to walk in another’s shoes but to understand the path they have followed and the path they wish to follow. Both SL and DT require authentic exploration, thorough consideration of opinion and situations, and commitment to resolve and solve. At the core there is collaboration, varied viewpoints, open communication, removing barriers, quelling prejudice and inviting diversity. Servant Leadership and Design Thinking as tools enable me to empathize to understand, manage with purpose, guide to empower and lead with vision. My goal as a leader and educator is to provide the best possible learning experience for students, provide an experience that values equality, celebrates diversity and empowers all. I have the experience to contribute to pre-existing diversity activities and the insight to explore and examine avenues to identify areas where opportunities may exist to provide support to improve the lives of the students, institution and community. It gives me joy to celebrate “great days for the races”, happiness to have my “eyes open for wisdom” and continue to be enriched by the knowledge that “each person’s experiences shape them in different ways."