#OscarSoWhite, Black Lives Matter, Native Lives Matter, Atticus Finch and Go Set a Watchman, the Syrian refugee crisis, the achievement and opportunity gap, white privilege, David Duke, the list goes on and on …
At a personal, organizational and societal level we are all facing the reality of living in a diverse world. A world that treats people differently and provides different opportunities based on observable and unobservable traits, characteristics, cultures and genetics. It can feel overwhelming at times. As a leader I find myself asking, “what can I do to make a difference?”
Over the next month, we will be exploring ways to make a difference. We will be blogging about the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities leadership competency – Valuing Diversity. It is defined as:
- demonstrating inclusivity in work processes and work teams
- encouraging and promoting the diversification of our faculty, staff and student body
- actively seeking out and inviting alternative viewpoints in planning, discussions and decision making
This is a volatile topic that exposes a wide variety of strong opinions and realities. Acknowledging and tackling challenging issues is an important aspect of leadership so we encourage you to dive in with us!
To get started I want to share two quotes that I heard at the MnSCU Student Affairs/Diversity and Equity conference last week. They reminded me of the personal and organizational accountability we all have to make changes.
“Equity is a practice, not a number or an outcome.”
“What can I do to shrink my bubble of ignorance.”
I look forward to our dialogue and sharing of ideas as we address our leadership roles in valuing diversity.
Todd Thorsgaard
Higher EDge 