Pacecast with Marvin Krislov: Episode 9
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PaceCast with Marvin Krislov: Episode 9 Pace University's President Marvin Krislov returns with episode nine of PaceCast! This time, he sits down with Pace's very first Chief Diversity Officer Tiffany Hamilton to discuss the importance of inclusivity and diversity in higher ed and on campus at Pace University. Available for listening at: https://soundcloud.com/user-479814349/pacecast-with-marvin-krislov- episode-10 Marvin Krislov: The people of Pace University are doing amazing things and I want you to know more about them. I am Marvin Krislov, the president of Pace, and this is the PaceCast. Marvin Krislov: Pace University is a vibrantly diverse community. About half of our students come from underrepresented communities. Nearly two thirds are women. Our students come from 47 states and the District of Columbia and from 51 different countries around the world ranging from Albania to Zimbabwe. Nearly half of our incoming first-year students are the first in their families to attend college. More than a third of our students are eligible for Pell grants, which means that they come from low-income families. Marvin Krislov: We're very proud of that diversity. Our long-standing mission of Opportunitas for us means that we open our doors to all hardworking, ambitious students regardless of their backgrounds. But we want to make sure that we're living up to that commitment. That's why this summer we hired our first-ever Chief Diversity Officer and Associate Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion. Tiffany Hamilton is that person and she's in the studio with me today. Thanks for being here, Tiffany. Tiffany Hamilton: No problem. Thanks for having me. Marvin Krislov: Tiffany, I believe you were the first in your family to attend college. Can you tell me about your background? Tiffany Hamilton: I can and so I'm originally from Kansas City, Missouri. I'm the youngest of two, so I do have an older sister who is six years my senior. And I must say technically she was the first to go to college, but when you think about generations, we both are a part of the first generation of our families to go to college. She went to a historically black college in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and I went to the University of Missouri, Kansas City. And interestingly enough, starting my undergraduate experience in addition to being a first-generation college student, I also was a full-time parent. And so I was able to navigate higher education through a unique pattern and a unique path utilizing the supports and services that my home institution offered for me. And that's where I fell in love with higher education administration as a career. Tiffany Hamilton: I actually pursued computer science in my undergraduate years, and the semester before graduation changed my major because my mentor, the then- director of multicultural student affairs, asked me what would I do every day for Page 1 of 6 free because I loved it that much. And my response was, "I would do your job." And so since then, I pursued higher education administration as a career path because of what it did for me as a full-time parent, a first-generation college student, a woman of color, and a woman of color in STEM. So utilizing those supports and services, I've made a life commitment to return to higher education—what it poured into me. Marvin Krislov: Wow. It sounds like you had a lot of juggling during those years. I'm guessing you learned time management very quickly. Tiffany Hamilton: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Sometimes it was trial by fire, but sometimes it was intentional in the time management between the student organizations, the home responsibilities, the academic responsibilities, and I also worked a three quarter time at a local casino to help pay through college. Marvin Krislov: Wow. Wow. So your own experience sounds like it led you to think about doing this work that you've made your life work is that right? Tiffany Hamilton: Absolutely. When I think about my overall educational experience, whether it's K through 12 but particularly high school through college, there were very few teachers or professors or faculty members of color specifically in the STEM industry. I did have one female faculty member, but looking for faculty of color during that experience was very far and few between. And then when you look to connect in your field and go into particular industries—I had an internship with a major cellular network provider that was also an environment where there weren't leaders of color or even other employees of color where I could find that network to talk through some of the challenging experiences that I would have. Tiffany Hamilton: And so being able to utilize offices like multicultural student affairs—or we had a very dedicated vice chancellor for student affairs that was able to connect me with resources and help me to match my cultural confidence with the academic confidence. And so that was very critical in my development as a collegiate and graduate student. Marvin Krislov: So Tiffany, you've been here how many months now? Tiffany Hamilton: We are on month two. Marvin Krislov: Month two. So you're still very new. What have you found since you've been here at Pace? Tiffany Hamilton: What I found most was the mission of Opportunitas definitely exists and permeates through a variety of spaces across our University, whether that's with faculty and staff, and as I meet with students, I'm hearing it as well. And what I'm also recognizing and learning is that this community has been waiting and are very welcoming to this new role and to this new unit and the work that Page 2 of 6 we are charged to continue and elevate as well. So as I'm on what I call this roadshow, to really personalize my approach in doing this work—meeting people in their spaces, hearing their voices, what they expect of the role, what they expect of the unit—I'm learning that there is a willingness to support and a commitment to do the work. And so that is very refreshing when you're building a very new unit that is addressing what for some may be an uncomfortable subject. Marvin Krislov: What do you think we're doing well and what do you think we could focus on doing better? Tiffany Hamilton: A couple of places that we are definitely excelling is the diversity of our students. I think we reflect the rich fabric of our country and the students that are represented even in your opening, being able to share the countries that our students come from. So we, we have the diversity in gender, we have it in ethnicity, we have it in religious affiliations and so forth. And so seeing that is really, really good. And then when we think about our faculty and administration, again, the commitment is definitely there. As I go into the academic units and meet with chairs and associate deans and the deans, the commitment is there to do the work. But what is surprising and refreshing is that there's an awareness that we could be doing better. Marvin Krislov: And what are some concrete steps you think we can take to better support students once they're here at Pace? Tiffany Hamilton: Absolutely. I think a few, a few things that we can do that we already have in place is ensuring that the places where students go for services and support— that they're resourced appropriately. And that the programs and services that they are providing are relevant for today's student. One of the things as a professional, I'm not married to doing things because they've always been done, right? We want to hear the voices of our students. Looking at the student satisfaction surveys and then talking with our current students to ensure that the programs and services we provide are relevant to their needs and to the, dare I say, 21st century, and so making sure those spaces are resourced and supported appropriately is critical. Tiffany Hamilton: And then to the academic experience, ensuring that our faculty are supported to exercise inclusive classroom practices, right? Ensuring that all students are participating in the conversation and that all students can see themselves [in] some way reflected in the curriculum or the content that's covered through their academic experience. And so this role has an opportunity to work across every single constituent in every single area of the University to support that student success. Whether it's residential life, career services, or counseling services, academic affairs. We really have a great opportunity to work across the University to get this work done. Marvin Krislov: We know that our student body is very diverse. Our faculty is less racially and ethnically diverse. How can we work to think about that and to change that? Page 3 of 6 Tiffany Hamilton: I think the first thing that we do as an institution is recognize that we are not the only ones, right? This challenge of diversifying the academy is not a nuance unique to Pace University. This is an area that higher education is looking to address across [the] board. And what that does is that kind of, it doesn't lower the anxiety around that, the disparities or the gaps that exist. It just brings a bit of reality to the fact that higher education as a whole has always struggled with this.