IOWA CITY, Iowa – At the University of Iowa (UI), faculty, staff, and students pride themselves on the buzzword, diversity. What diversity looks like in the trenches, however, is much different than what it looks like on a slogan. A lack of representation paired with a need for resources for students of color creates an environment that is lacking in inspiration for students, apart from the faculty and staff that represent these constituents.
Students of color make up 33.1 percent of the UI population. Of that percentage, African Americans make up 9.3 percent of students of color, according to the Student Enrollment Report for Fall 2017.
People of color, particularly black women, sacrifice more than stress in order to benefit students of color; they often sacrifice their pay and free time. The women of color in positions of leadership at the UI serve as no exception, regardless of their rank.
Watch the video below to hear from students and faculty of color about their thoughts and experiences with diversity at the UI:
Dr. Lena Hill is senior associate to the president and interim chief diversity officer and associate vice president, after being at the UI for 12 years. Dr. Hill’s work and dedication to the UI is exemplified in her and her husband Michael Hill’s co-authored book: Invisible Hawkeyes. The book chronicles the journey of black students at the UI, as it is overlooked and hides many experiences of black students that would provide clues in how to better actualize diversity at the UI. Dr. Hill serves as role model for students of color.
“I’ve felt like it’s an honor to have the opportunity to interact with students and engage with students who are not necessarily in English or African American Studies,” Dr. Hill said. “Once they discover you are willing to play that role in the community as well as on campus, you’re invited to do different things. Now that I’m in an administrative role, I’m quite cognizant of it and would like to make sure that faculty of color have extra support, because it is a real, extra expectation that is often invisible.”
Service that faculty of color provide not only includes the work that they do to become and stay tenured, but also the work and mentorship they provide to students of color. Much of this work is not credited towards tenure or recognized outside of the community in which they are volunteering.
Dr. Hill was recently promoted to the position of dean of the college at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. She will assume her role in July, 2018. After helping to promote diversity on and off campus at the UI, Dr. Hill plans to do the same at Washington and Lee University, which was historically presided over by Robert E. Lee from 1865 to 1870.
People of color have been shown through research to be placed more often into “token positions” of diversity than others at higher education institutions to fill a symbolic space for their community.
Dr. Sarah Bruch, an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and the director of the Social Education Policy Research Program at the Public Policy Center at the UI, attributes the causes of the placement of people of color into diversity positions.
People feel obligated to have diversity positions, Dr. Bruch said. Two major explanations for this state that institutions say either a person of color should be in that positions symbolically and because of awareness from personal experience, or that it is important to place people of color into leadership positions through a diversity channel in order to address historical marginalization.
Once people of color are in visible roles to students of color, they often undertake roles unforeseen, such as mentor and parent. This provides students with motivation to make better grades and aspire to higher positions in the workforce, according to Dr. Bruch’s research.
“Previous research was sort of mixed on whether or not there’s evidence that says that it’s more beneficial to have a race match teacher, or just have more diversity…in your exposure to teachers,” Dr. Bruch said. “All of the work now is saying that not only is having racial diversity in your teaching staff beneficial for students of color, but it’s actually beneficial for everybody…it probably has an impact on whether or not you get into college and things like that, but mostly through academic achievement.”
To get more answers regarding Dr. Bruch’s research about people of color in academia, listen to portions of our Q&A:
Students of color are also motivated to undertake leadership positions on and off campus in order to serve and inspire other students and people of color.
Arika Allen, the former Black Student Union (BSU) president, is a student inspired by faculty and mentors of color such as Dr. Lena Hill, Dr. Nadine Petty, and Dr. Melissa Shivers through their work on and off campus.
“In the past year in my position…I knew I could do it based on the people I’ve seen…like all these women of color,” Allen said. “Seeing someone who represents you and understands all of the same struggles you go through on a daily basis on this campus is kind of securing, and kind of empowering and uplifting, and really reassures you that what you’re doing here on campus is influential.”
Women of color in positions of leadership at the UI occupy the role of inspirer, mentor, and even mother. Students rely on them inside and out of the classroom for support and encouragement in the face of blatant or subtle discrimination. For Allen, Dr. Hill provided the most support.
“I compare her to a school mom, or like a ‘mama’,” Allen said. “She looks out for us, tells us about different things that are going on, gives us words of encouragement, motivates us. I recently heard her speak at an event called ‘Black Girls Do Science’, and although she was speaking to young children…she encouraged young adults and adults in the room because the words that she says kind of speaks to everyone…If she can do it why can’t we. If they can do it, why can’t you…just because no one’s in that position yet that looks like you, or you don’t have that representation; if you have to be the first, why not be the first.”
Strides are taken in leadership roles by women of color at the UI, but discrimination remains.
Executive Director Dr. Nadine Petty of the Center for Diversity and Enrichment (CDE) has experienced slights against her position due to her identity.
“It comes up in ways that are based upon implicit bias, I think,” Dr. Petty said. “When it comes up, it’s not intentional…it’s really about how we react to what we’re seeing. For me what that is, is microaggressions on a daily basis that I may not want to be dealing with at any particular time.”
Currently, the UI is offering opportunities for faculty and staff to improve their cultural competency through the Building University of Iowa Leadership for Diversity (BUILD) initiative. BUILD offers a certificate after the completion of workshops that assess participants’ commitments to diversity and inclusion.
Philip Runia 