NAVIGATING DIVERSITY

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Running Head: NAVIGATING DIVERSITY









Navigating Diversity: Across Ethnic and Cultural Lines: Implications for me as a Student Affairs
Professional

Lacy Anthony-Speed

Arkansas State University

CSPS 6373
May 9, 2014


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Table of Contents
I. INTRODUCTION....3
A. Justification of why I chose to interview ..3
B. Niya Blairs Background. 4
II. WHAT I LEARNED. 5
A. Implications on my Professional Career8
B. Conclusion..10
III. REFERENCES13
IV. APPENDICES. 14
A. Interview Questions.. 14












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Introduction
The one motivator for me in deciding to seek a degree in College Student Personnel
Services was that I would learn how to help students from different walks of life come together
on higher education campuses and learn to academically and socially interact with one another
with the same goal in mind; to get a quality education so that they can enter the workforce and
use the skill sets that they acquire in their area of study, get a good job and be successful in their
endeavors. I also understand that it is the challenge of professionals in academic affairs and the
educators to help the students realize their goal. One area on campus that is directly involved
with understanding and working with diverse students are the employees at the Multi- Cultural
Center at Arkansas State. I felt that if I could tap into the knowledge of someone who
proactively addresses diversity on campus and promote activities and ideas that help students
understand that everyone is different and that everyone must learn to respect the differences in
order to reach a functional level of understanding then I can learn how to help them reach their
full growth development while attending Arkansas State.


Justification of why I chose to interview Ms. Niya Blair
Ms. Niya Blair, Director of the Multicultural Center on The Arkansas State campus was
my selection as the person that I wanted interview for this assignment. I felt that Ms. Blair could
share first-hand knowledge on her day to day interactions with diverse students and how they
affected her decision to work in this type of environment. I asked Ms. Blair what personal
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rewards did she get from working with these students and she replied My rewards are when I
am able to help positively open minds about the way others perceive diversity as well as helping
students navigate college. I asked her how she would respond to people that say there is no
diversity at Arkansas State. There is diversity at A-State. Its how you define it. Diversity
could and should be expanded, but we all have to do a better job of being open to that. It must be
a priority. That is why any professional dealing with a diverse group of students must be focused
on learning and implementing skills or activities that can be applied to help the students develop
both academically and socially during their college experience. The goal is to help these
students make a successful transition from college to the workforce and to help them develop
their total academic and personal growth potential so that they can graduate from school and get
gainful employment, hopefully in a related area of their studies , and build healthy relationships
with other people both in the workplace and socially.

Niya Blairs Background
Ms. Blair received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Central Arkansas and
Master of Education with an emphasis in Higher Education from the University of Arkansas. She
worked four years at LSU as a program coordinator overseeing the African American Cultural
Center and hosting diversity programs. I asked Ms. Blair what multicultural population did she
work with most and how did these students feel about being a minority and what were their
struggles? She told me that she works mainly with African Americans. I think some of them
dont think about being a minority and if they do its when they have been wronged. Some of
their struggles are financial difficulty, learning how to navigate college, embracing their culture,
and understanding that many times they have to work harder than their peers, she explained.
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As for working with other diverse students and effectively deal with sensitivity issues she said,
Be open. Understand that they have issues that are similar and different from their peers. Know
that it generally takes more effort to work with diverse student populations, but its worth it.
Like any students you work with, get to know what students like and their needs. At the end of
the day, diverse student populations like all students, want to know that someone is there for
them and they truly care.
I then asked Ms. Blair if she thought students of color will be hesitant to seek my
services, me being an African American woman. If so, how can I make myself more accessible?
She said that it depends on what your service is. Generally, students of color are hesitant to seek
help especially if they do not believe they need it or are not familiar with you. It takes effort and
time to establish relationships with students of color. They must trust you in order to come to
you for your services.
What I Learned
Ms. Blair said that in her current role as the Director of the A-State Multicultural Center,
she directs the Center and oversee a staff of 3 and oversee a programmatic budget. The center
provides educational, cultural, and social programs and initiatives she added. Ms. Blairs main
focus it to work with other professionals to help make A-State a more inclusive campus. There
are events and student organizations on campus that cater to multicultural students. However,
there needs to be more faculty and staff who work on campus that mirror multicultural students.
Some of the major multicultural events that happen at Arkansas State are A-State
Connection, a minority recruitment program for high school juniors occurs at the end of April.
The students come to campus for one day to connect in the areas of admissions, financial aid,
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residence life, academics, and campus life. The Center also hosts Black History Month
activities, Womens History Month Celebration, and Spring Graduation Reception.

As Director of the Multicultural Center Ms. Blair also:
Provides leadership in advancing the vision and knowledge of diversity education
For ASU students in conjunction with other departments and divisions on campus;
Academic Affairs, Office of Diversity Initiatives, Office of International Affairs,
and units within division of Student Affairs;
Manages the restructure of the Multicultural Centers mission, vision, goals, and
branding resulting in an increase of the Centers usage by 90%;
Supervises, provides professional development, and evaluates program coordinator,
Two graduate assistants, and 8 student workers;
Budget responsibility ;
Assists fiscal support specialist with budget, allocating resources optimally to reach
Department goals;
Teaches diversity section to Making Connections (First Year experience) classes;
Manages and organizes traveling art exhibits and increase donation to Multicultural
Resource library;
Establishes close working relationships with faculty to provide students with learning
Experiences outside of the classroom;
Restructured and renamed A-State Connection, a minority recruitment program for
High school juniors to learn more about ASU working with the Office of Admissions;
Restructured Brother to Brother (a black male initiative) and Circle of Trust (a black
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Female initiative) organizations that aids in the recruitment, retention, and
Graduation rates of these populations;
Developed and coordinates awareness programs that promote multicultural education and
Social justice for students (Hispanic Heritage Month, MLK Week, Black History Month,
LGBT History Month and Womens History Month).
She also oversees Non-Traditional Student Services. My experience working with
Minority Services as an undergraduate and my mentor from the institution greatly impacted my
decision to go into this work she said. I believe it is one of my callings in life. I was amazed
at all of the hats Ms. Blair wears to accomplish the objectives of this position and I also
understand why the help of all faculty and administration professionals are needed in order to
have a total impact on helping our diverse population on campus. Denson & Park agreed with
Ms. Blair in an article written about attitudes held by faculty concerning racial/ethnic diversity
on university campuses. They said that faculty and the administrators play a critical role in
facilitating or discouraging efforts to foster a positive campus racial climate. They influence
campus conditions, which in turn affect other elements of the campus climate such as the
perceptions that students have of the institution's commitment to diversity, the addition of an
organizational/structural component to the campus racial climate framework. (Denson & Park,
2009).
I asked Ms. Blair what she saw happening in this profession in the next ten years. She
feels that the profession would change dramatically as the population changes and colleges begin
to focus on a more global perspective. She does not think that the programs and initiatives done
now will be relevant in 10 years. Her model of a multicultural program that will survive time is
on the campus of the University of Tennessee. Their program is very inclusive not just within
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their office, but diversity is intertwined throughout the campus. Their office is not just
programmatic; it has initiatives and links to academics. They have the money, staff, other
resources, and administration that support their program. These are all vital components for a
successful multicultural program.

Implications on My Professional Career
After digesting the views that Ms. Blair mentioned to me in her interview concerning the
current function of the multicultural program and what and she thinks the future holds for the
program in its efforts to help diverse students get what they need to experience a great college
life and grow emotionally, physically, academically and socially as they strive toward graduation
and entering into the workforce as a functional citizen of our society, I find that a lot of work
needs to done on the Arkansas State campus to make this happen. The first thing that I realize is
that racial, ethnic and linguistic diversity cannot be navigated through the Multicultural Center
alone. It will take all of the faculty member, administrators and any other members of the
university population who interact with our diverse population of students. Perhaps if colleges
want to encourage their faculty to advocate for diversity more, they can begin by cultivating an
environment that encourages and rewards faculty for fostering civic values and engagement
within their students. Indeed, encouraging civic values and engagement and preparing students
for active citizenship has been identified as one of the primary aims of higher education (Ehrlich,
2000). Rewards have always been a motivator to encourage participation. These rewards should
require that the participant acquire the skills needed to understand diverse students need; and
succeed in helping these students make a smooth transition from college to the workforce. A.
Antonio (Antonio, A. (2002) said that if universities want to live up to promises about engaging
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a diverse student body and preparing students to be good citizens (Chang et al., 2003), they
should make an effort to encourage diversity advocates in their efforts to create opportunities for
all students to succeed. He made these comment after completing his research were he tested
faculty diversity advocacy based on the color of the faculty member. The findings indicate that
the likelihood of faculty holding a Diversity Advocacy identity is influenced by a variety of
traits, backgrounds, and values. Descriptive analyses showed that subsets of faculty, primarily
racial/ethnic minorities, women, and those in English, Social Science, and Humanities were most
likely to strongly promote Diversity Advocacy. (Antonio, A. (2002). I guess I fall in this
category; therefore, I am expected to be one of the professionals who will help students get what
they need to achieve their goals. Apparently from the results of the research I am one of the few
people whose cultural experiences line up with those of diverse students of all colors represented
on the university campuses today. I agree that because I was not born with white privileges, I
have been denied an easy path to education and to the workforce. However, since I am a baby
boomer and I grew up during the times when racism, which is the basis for our diversity issues
on our university campuses today, was running rampant in our country, I learned that everyone
was born into a different culture and with that culture brought different customs and lifestyles. It
takes a special person to acknowledge that we are all different but we all want the same thing,
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. As an Academic Professional I must be able to
understand that people are different. I have been exposed to many tools that have been
successfully used to help me even the playing field when helping other students of color who
might speak a different language or born in a different country than me get what they want.


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Conclusion
When colleges and universities aggressively recruit students to their campuses for
the purpose of preparing them to compete successfully for jobs after graduation, they
assume, in my opinion, a moral obligation to assist their students in various ways as they
progress toward successful completion of their educational objectives and career plans.
An increasing number of educators contend that as an inherent responsibility, colleges
and universities must provide a wide range of services and programs designed to support
the students' educational plans. Today, academic advising and career guidance surface as
central educational activities; colleges and universities that value the career-related needs
of their students must develop strategies that will elevate the importance of academic and
career advising. Therefore, there must be a commitment to academic advising as a
significant educational mission of the university at all levels of the administrative
hierarchy-from governing board to president, academic vice-president, deans,
departmental chairpersons, and faculty. Anything short of this level of commitment may
result in an inferior, dissipated program of academic advising. (Austin, 2002. pp. 94-
122.)
I am challenged to encourage faculty and administrators to sharpen their skills and join
me in promoting racial, ethnic and linguistic diversity on our campus. The teachers are the most
essential part of getting this done. Students are becoming more diverse in their backgrounds,
needs, motivations, and expectations (Keller, 2001; Syverson, 1996). Antonio also said the
faculty members must have some appreciation and preparation for working with students of
diverse ages, genders, eth-nicities, capabilities, levels of interest and commitment, life circum-
stances, and prior educational preparation. The diversity of students is one reason that faculty
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members must learn how to use a broad range of teaching strategies. (Antonio, A. (2002). The
requirement to become a teacher today includes technological skills so that our teachers hired to
educate our children in this diverse society is equipped with the knowledge needed to be
successful. I know that some teachers on Arkansas State are retiring because of the online
classes being offered. This teaching method will only increase and once these faculty members
retire, they will be replaced with faculty members with skills that will be needed to teach
students in all capacities. Distant Learning is a wave of the future and a teachers ability to be
diverse is essential. As an Academic Professional I am required to focus my attention on helping
our diverse student population. Most research used in this paper recognizes that the
Professionals in Student Affairs are primarily focused on helping navigate diversity on college
campuses; but the employees who should be the main promoter are the administrators and the
faculty members. They make decisions that directly affect all students and could have a very
positive effect on their transition process. They must get involved.
When I think of the role that Ms. Blair plays on our campus, I see that she has been given
the total responsibility to bring these students together. She cannot do it alone. The
Multicultural Center currently serves as a heaven for minority students to interact with other
minority students, which excludes them from the total campus population. Our society consists
of all types of people living and working together; therefore, our university must mirror our
society. Today, it does not. It could be that Arkansas States campus as a whole does not reflect
a diverse population of administrators, faculty members and student affairs professionals. Since
we bring with us our own philosophy of life and our faculty and administrators are not forced to
come out of their comfort zones and deal with students on another level other than their own,
students do not see them as their friends and do not trust them to give them advice. Therefore,
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the responsibility lies on the shoulders of a few; but everyone employed by the university has the
responsibility to individually and collectively make educating our students from all walks of life
comfortable as they study on our campus and strive to receive their graduation degrees. When
they leave our campus they become the mouthpiece for our school. Their testimony should bring
other students to our campus. It should be our goal as Student Affairs professionals to make sure
that the words that they speak about Arkansas State are soothing to the ear.













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References
Antonio, A. (2002). Faculty of color reconsidered: Reassessing contributions to scholar ship. The
Journal of Higher Education, 73(5), 582-602.
Austin, Anne E. The Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 73, No. 1, Special Issue: The Faculty in
the New Millennium (Jan. - Feb., 2002), pp. 94-122
Chang, M. J., Witt, D., Jones, J., & Hakuta, K. (Eds.). (2003). Compelling interest: Examining
the evidence on racial dynamics in colleges and universities. Stanford: Stan ford
University Press.
Denson, Nida & Park, Julie J. Attitudes and Advocacy: Understanding Faculty Views on
Racial/Ethnic Diversity. The Journal of Higher Education. Vol. 80, No. 4 (Jul. - Aug.,
2009), pp. 415-438 Published by: Ohio State University Press Stable URL:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/25511121.
Keller, G. (Spring 2001). The new demographics of higher education. Review of Higher
Education, 24, 219-235.
Syverson, P. (1996, October). The new American graduate student: Challenge or opportunity?
CGS Communicator, 29(8), 7-8, 11. [http://www.capnet.org/vcr/cctr610.htm]


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Appendix A
Interview Questions

1. What is your educational and work background?
2. What went into your decision to go into multicultural programs?
3. What were your main responsibilities as the multicultural director?
4. What were the personal rewards you got from your job?
5. What do you see happening in this profession in the next ten years?
6. What are some of the major multicultural events that happen at Arkansas State?
7. What multicultural population did you work with most? How did these students feel?
About being a minority and what are their struggles?
8. People often say that there is no diversity at Arkansas State. How do you respond to that?
9. What do you think Arkansas State does to cater to and incorporate its multicultural students?
Do you think its sufficient?
10. Do you think students of color will be hesitant to seek my services? If so, how can I make
Myself more accessible?
11. What is your main advice for me when working with a diverse student population? How
Can I be sensitive to these students issues?
12. If you could model the multicultural program after any other campus who would it be and
Why?