On Monday, Wesleyan students all over campus logged into their Webmail accounts to find an e-mail announcing the selection of new University president, Michael Roth. The e-mail included a link to his biography, with his picture.

While Roth’s appointment has been well met by the University community, diversity issues automatically arise with any important move made by “diversity university.” The University has never had a woman or minority president.

Many agree that as long as the search gathered an applicant pool that successfully reflected the University’s commitment to diversity, the final selection can be regarded with confidence, regardless of the person’s race, gender, or sexual preference. Still, others argue that the process needs more transparency to ensure that such a situation exists.

According to Chair of the African American Studies Program Professor Renee Romano, the first step to ensuring a fair and diverse presidential selection is to provide an inclusive, diverse pool of interviewees.

Starting out with a diverse applicant pool will guarantee that the eventual final candidate is chosen based on their own personal merit, and not merely on the color of their skin, their gender, or their sexual preference.

“You need to put your energy into the pool at the beginning so as to recruit people who are different from one another,” Romano said. “Then you have them compete against each other through each level of the application process until you end up with the final few candidates. Michael Roth rose to the top of the pool and we can only assume that he appeared to be the most qualified candidate for the position.”

Johanna Justin-Jinich ’10, a member of the Cunt Club, does not doubt the impartiality of the search committee, but admits that she would like the assurance of knowing that the application pool was diverse.

“Maybe there weren’t any applicants who were diverse and who applied to the job,” Justin-Jinich said. “Then we can assume that this is why yet another white male was chosen. I don’t think, though, that women or people of color should be given special status just because of those qualities, but those qualities should be recognized and sought after.”

Romano elaborated on this concept, identifying it as a form of “symbolic politicking.” According to Romano, symbolic politicking occurs when it is assumed that having a person of color or a woman at the helm of an institution would allow it to reflect certain values.

“Just because you have a woman or a person of color holding the position of president does not mean that they will do X, Y, Z for the university,” Romano said. “In any search, you want to find the candidate who can identify your needs and best fill them, regardless of their diversity.”

Dean of Diversity Daniel Teraguchi shared similar sentiments, commenting that oftentimes, regardless of a person’s minority status, they may still have a diverse mindset.

“You don’t have to be a person of color to talk about issues that affect persons of color and to adequately address these issues,” Teraguchi said.

A number of students have expressed doubts regarding the selection process. Jessica Rosario ’09, a member of the Latino student organization Ajua Campos, wonders whether the value of diversity played an important role in the selection process.

“I’ve heard that the application pool was diverse, which, based on the candidate they chose, leads me to question the committee,” Rosario said.

She also questioned the sincerity of the inclusion of diverse candidates.

“Was the pool diverse enough or was it only diverse as a front?” Rosario asked.

Regardless of the selection process, many students acknowledge that diversity will be an important issue for the incoming president.

Jane Charles-Voltaire ’07, a member of Ujamaa, hopes that Roth will bridge the gap between minority student organizations and the administration in order to foster a closer relationship between the two.

“It’s one of the things that makes Wesleyan so unique because in a lot of schools you don’t find that crossing over so easily and readily,” Charles-Voltaire said.

Students, faculty, and administrators all have high hopes for the new president, and they await his formal introduction to the campus community on April 27.

“Let’s see when he introduces himself in late April what he’s going to say,” Charles-Voltaire said. “Are the issues of diversity, communication, tension, and community going to be discussed?”