This volume addresses the role of chief diversity officers as coordinating and integrating diversity leaders in higher education and other sectors.Having established in a companion volume the parameters for an effective diversity strategy, the authors address such questions as: What is a chief diversity officer? How might we create dynamic chief diversity officer infrastructures? What models of CDO structure exist in the academy? What misperceptions often confound the work of officers and the institutions they work within? What key competencies are necessary to lead as a CDO? How does the CDO role compare across higher education, non-profit, and corporate sectors? And how might the role serve as an important contributor to a collaborative vision for change and transformation in the academy?This book begins by delineating the evolution of the chief diversity officer role in the academy. Drawing on extensive qualitative and quantitative research on CDOs conducted for the purposes of this volume, it describes how the scope and responsibilities are variously defined at the organizations where the position has been created, and offers insights into the complexities and challenges of the role.On the basis of this data and the literature on organizational design and change management, the authors define the requisite skills, knowledge and background to be effective, review the alternative organizational and governance structures under which CDOs operate, and in so doing present the Chief Diversity Officer Development Framework as a basis for recruiting candidates, for structuring the position to succeed, and for providing prospective and incumbent CDOs with a realistic sense of the scope of the role.This title is also available in a set with its companion volume, Strategic Diversity Leadership.

In today’s world – whether viewed through a lens of educational attainment, economic development, global competitiveness, leadership capacity, or social justice and equity – diversity is not just the right thing to do, it is the only thing to do! Following the era of civil rights in the 1960s and ‘70s, the 1990s and early 21st century have seen both retrenchment and backlash years, but also a growing recognition, particularly in business and the military, that we have to educate and develop the capacities of our citizens from all levels of society and all demographic and social groups to live fulfilling lives in an inter-connected globe.For higher education that means not only increasing the numbers of diverse students, faculty, and staff, but simultaneously pursuing excellence in student learning and development, as well as through research and scholarship – in other words pursuing what this book defines as strategic diversity leadership. The aim is to create systems that enable every student, faculty, and staff member to thrive and achieve to maximum potential within a diversity framework. This book is written from the perspective that diversity work is best approached as an intellectual endeavor with a pragmatic focus on achieving results that takes an evidence-based approach to operationalizing diversity. It offers an overarching conceptual framework for pursuing diversity in a national and international context; delineates and describes the competencies, knowledge and skills needed to take effective leadership in matters of diversity; offers new data about related practices in higher education; and presents and evaluates a range of strategies, organizational structures and models drawn from institutions of all types and sizes. It covers such issues as the reorganization of the existing diversity infrastructure, building accountability systems, assessing the diversity process, and addressing legal threats to implementation. Its purpose is to help strategic diversity leaders combine big-picture thinking with an on-the-ground understanding of organizational reality and work strategically with key stakeholders and allies. This book is intended for presidents, provosts, chief diversity officers or diversity professionals, and anyone who wants to champion diversity and embed its objectives on his or her campus, whether at the level of senior administration, as members of campus organizations or committees, or as faculty, student affairs professionals or students taking a leadership role in making and studying the process of change.This title is also available in a set with its companion volume, The Chief Diversity Officer.

In this edited volume, diversity practitioners in the field of higher education speak about the transformative journeys that led them to become Chief Diversity Officers (CDOs). Not always an easy path, chapter authors lay bare the challenges and successes of doing this important work in a society that is becoming increasingly hostile to their efforts. The narratives in this intriguing volume unpack the various pathways for DEI practitioners to practice their craft, step into the CDO role, and maintain a sense of self and wholeness while doing so. Full of wisdom and practical insights, this volume helps CDOs understand how to focus on educational priorities that champion access and affordability, equity and social mobility, belonging, and the promise of education, while building bridges across differences. Chapters conclude with key insights to reiterate major lessons from each author’s journey, along with guiding questions for reflection. Chief Diversity Officers in Higher Education Today is written for practitioners at all levels of higher education, but especially aspiring diversity, equity, and inclusion leaders. It’s also an important resource for current CDOs in their efforts to support institutions seeking to fulfill their educational mission and strengthen the enrichment of undergraduate, graduate, and professional level scholars.

As community colleges continue to be significant in the national landscape of higher education by providing access to education and job training to diverse constituents, conversations about the support for strategic diversity leadership are paramount. Now more than ever, senior leaders must be intentional in aligning strategy with outcomes and guidance in relation to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Leaders must be diligent in pursuing an inclusive excellence agenda and promoting a strategy to support positive outcomes that impact cross-college collaboration that advances education completion and support. This practitioner’s guide will provide timely and relevant insight on the ultimate benefits of strategic diversity leadership to promote inclusive excellence at community colleges. This book offers tangible resources and discusses the role of the chief diversity officer. This book will significantly benefit those interested in learning more about diversity and inclusion at community colleges and will provide insight into strategic diversity leadership. The book provides an in-depth view of the roles and responsibilities of the chief diversity officer, diversity strategic planning, and examines the various roles of diversity leaders at community colleges.

Illuminating the emerging importance of the diversity leader on college campuses, this book offers perspectives and narratives from diversity leaders at institutions of higher education. Becoming a Diversity Leader on Campus unpacks the tension of how diversity leadership is shaped by external factors and pressures that confront colleges and universities, as well as by the unique experiences and identities of the individuals appointed to diversity leadership positions. This book offers a better understanding of how diversity leaders make meaning and sense of their roles, desire, and passion for promoting diversity within their institutions. Chapter authors offer narratives that represent their realities regarding the concept of diversity leadership, how they came to be in their roles, and how diversity leaders do diversity work. This important resource provides practical strategies and guides faculty and higher education professionals in navigating the situational, contextual, and relational constructs within the social and cultural contexts of college and university campuses.

One of Time Magazine's Must-Read Books of 2019 An award-winning journalist shows how workplace diversity initiatives have turned into a profoundly misguided industry--and have done little to bring equality to America's major industries and institutions. Diversity has become the new buzzword, championed by elite institutions from academia to Hollywood to corporate America. In an effort to ensure their organizations represent the racial and ethnic makeup of the country, industry and foundation leaders have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to commission studies, launch training sessions, and hire consultants and diversity czars. But is it working? In Diversity, Inc., award-winning journalist Pamela Newkirk shines a bright light on the diversity industry, asking the tough questions about what has been effective--and why progress has been so slow. Newkirk highlights the rare success stories, sharing valuable lessons about how other industries can match those gains. But as she argues, despite decades of handwringing, costly initiatives, and uncomfortable conversations, organizations have, apart from a few exceptions, fallen far short of their goals. Diversity, Inc. incisively shows the vast gap between the rhetoric of inclusivity and real achievements. If we are to deliver on the promise of true equality, we need to abandon ineffective, costly measures and commit ourselves to combatting enduring racial attitudes

To accomplish the important work of diversifying the student body, staff, faculty and administrators in order to create a welcoming and inclusive culture, many institutions of higher education have installed an executive leader to serve as the organization's chief officer of diversity, with the objective of infusing diversity into the college or university mission in a manner that meaningfully affects internal stakeholders and external stakeholders alike. This study explored how the chief officers of diversity within small, private, four-year, colleges have conceptualized their role, giving consideration to modern structural and operational conventions of chief diversity officers, to the missions of the institutions, and to any theological underpinnings. This study examined the four principle organizational components that affect the productivity and effectiveness of the chief officer of diversity and are affected by the productivity and effectiveness of the chief officer of diversity. The findings of this study revealed that the chief diversity officers of small, private, four-year colleges are primarily ranked as academic managers within their campus hierarchies and employ the Collaborative Officer operational model to facilitate educational and social experiences with provocative diversity and inclusion themes, in accordance with the civil rights multicultural approach to diversity. The findings also revealed salient themes relating to these chief diversity officers' perceptions of successes and challenges: (1) increased participation from campus citizens was considered a success, (2) misperceptions about the role and purpose of the chief diversity officer's position was considered a challenge, and (3) scarcity of both financial and human resources was considered a challenge. Additionally, this study discovered the perception of increased tensions as modern conventions regarding inherent privileges and biases interrupt historically held campus beliefs and customs, along with the perception of incongruence between scriptural ethos, sexual orientation and gender identities as a matter of diversity, equity and inclusion. Finally this study discovered that the chief diversity officers of small, private, four-year colleges are aware of their evolutionary lag, and would reconceptualize their current roles to ensure future success by adopting a strategic leadership diversity approach at the executive administrative level of the college, as is the prevailing practice with their public counterparts. The findings of this study will advance our limited understanding of the current developmental lifecycle of the chief diversity officer position within private, four-year, institutions of higher learning, and will inform future considerations for diversity officers.