Is ECU ready for sustainable institution transformation?
Leadership Retreat Launching Gender Equity Program
“Dear East Carolina University, do you want to tackle this work?” Our guest speaker, Dr. Menah Pratt-Clarke, posed this question to a virtual room full of over 70 Deans and Department Chairs at a leadership retreat on January 14, 2021. The retreat was organized by THRIVE: Towards Hiring, Resources, Inclusion, Value and Excellence as part of their National Science Foundation ADVANCE award (HRD-2017219). As PI of the award, Interim Chancellor Ron Mitchelson provided opening remarks and issued a call to action. “Our institutional commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion gains momentum with each passing day, and THRIVE is an excellent example. We must make sure that ECU is a welcoming and supportive place for all,” Mitchelson stated.
THRIVE’s goals are to change the culture, build support, and remove structural barriers for the advancement of women at ECU, particularly female faculty in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). THRIVE co-PI Dr. Kristen Myers (Department Chair of Sociology) and Dr. Stephanie George (Associate Professor of Engineering) introduced the planned work. “THRIVE seeks to build upon ongoing efforts by campus leaders to transform the culture, practices, and infrastructure at ECU, focusing on increasing equity and inclusion for women and people of color in STEM fields.” Myers also addressed the broader impact, “If THRIVE is successful, all units on campus will be improved for all members of ECU, regardless of what field they’re in.”
The administrators then heard from invited speaker Dr. Menah Pratt-Clarke, Vice President for Strategic Affairs and Diversity at Virginia Tech. Dr. Pratt-Clarke shared her experience creating InclusiveVT by building consensus and integrating diversity and inclusion objectives within the university strategic plan and motto. But how do you tackle the work? Dr. Pratt-Clarke urges looking, analyzing, asking questions, creating discomfort, analyzing again, and then changing. However, these changes must be sustainable.
Menah Pratt-Clarke, JD, PhD (image source)
Without institutional support, “ADVANCE is a dead car with a jumpstart.” describes Dr. Pratt-Clarke talking about the NSF program that funded THRIVE. “Eventually, the car will need a new battery.” Will the institution be prepared to provide one? The “institution must be ready for a change. If not, you attract diverse talent, but you cannot retain them.” Dr. Pratt-Clarke then concluded, “ECU, how will you lead sustainable institutional transformation?”
During the Q&A session, Dr. Chelley Alexander (Professor and Chair Department of Family Medicine, Brody School of Medicine) asked, “If you only had three things you could do, what three things would you start with to make a meaningful, lasting change?” Dr. Pratt-Clarke prioritized the following three actions: 1) build relationships with people, understand who holds authority and pursue multi-level relationships; 2) understand where the money flows, who or what influences the process and how; and 3) be willing to go it alone, hold “unwavering commitment to the work even in the face of rejection, jealousy, and criticism.” In short, you need people, money, and the courage to be brave.
Following Dr. Pratt-Clarke’s inspiring talk, the administrators participated in small group discussions to address one of four vignettes. Each vignette described a real-life diversity, equity, or inclusion scenario and provided discussion questions. The vignettes were written by THRIVE co-PI Dr. Crystal Chambers (Professor of Educational Leadership), who also moderated the discussion. “We are fortunate to have this team doing important work on our campus,” Dean Allison Danell (Harriet College of Arts and Sciences) noted. “At the THRIVE Leadership Retreat, specific examples were offered of how search committees can write position descriptions that will result in more diverse and inclusive applicant pools.”
In closing, THRIVE co-PI Dr. Rachel Roper (Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Brody School of Medicine) thanked all attendees; and shared future THRIVE events, including a month-long, campus-wide launch in March.