Seven students met to discuss the duties, requirements, and possible titles for the new multicultural dean last night in Woodhead Lounge. The event was organized as an open forum for students, without the presence of any administrators, to discuss issues pertaining to the hiring of the new dean.
David Woo ’08, member of the WSA Community Outreach Committee, moderated the forum and will relay the suggestions and ideas that were discussed to Dean of the College Maria Cruz-Saco. Despite the single-digit turnout, the students who did attend contributed a variety of suggestions. Due to the informal setting, the students also wished to remain anonymous.
The most important issue discussed was what the duties of the new dean should be. Last year, the multicultural task force created an office of multicultural affairs, which the dean will preside over. Students said that they wanted a dean with multicultural knowledge and open office hours to talk to, specifically for those who feel marginalized. In addition, students said they wanted the dean to listen to their concerns and impart student issues to the rest of the Administration.
“This dean could initiate stuff on his or her own,” one student said. “One of the responsibilities should be designing programs to make the University aware of issues of marginalized students.”
“There is so much programming already, and the dean should be supporting individual students in programs that they created,” another student said. “The dean should not create more programming.”
Students also said that the new dean and should be open not just to students of racial and gender minorities, but also to students of diverse religions and political views, as well as disabled students.
“The new dean should be a networking master,” one student said.
The issue of a possible overlap between the dean of affirmative action and the office of the new dean was discussed as well.
“I’ve always been concerned that these two offices would compete,” one student said. “Last year, people were sent to the office of affirmative action when they felt marginalized.”
Some students believed that the office of affirmative action should be under the jurisdiction of the new dean, while others believed the two could be completely separate. In the latter scenario, the office of affirmative action would deal exclusively with the hiring of faculty and staff, while the new dean would be concerned with making the community a safe space for everyone.
All of the students at the forum agreed that an advisory board to the new dean, consisting of faculty, staff, and students, should be created.
Another issue discussed throughout the meeting was the dean’s official title. Although arguably a cosmetic concern, the title could help students understand the dean’s purpose.
“If the only way to make it all-inclusive is to make the title ambiguous, then maybe it’s worth it,” one student said. “The dean should not be just for students of color and queer students, but open to everyone.”
Some titles suggested during the course of the meeting were “Dean of Multicultural Affairs,” “Dean of Student Representation,” and “Dean of Community and Identity.” Most students at the forum expressed amusement and skepticism about the previously proposed title, “Dean of Anti-Oppression.”
Whether or not the dean’s own demographic information should be scrutinized in the hiring process was also brought up.
“I think it should be creed, race, and gender blind,” one student said. “They should just hire the best person for the job.”
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