New center for Inclusion and Diversity on second floor campion

A ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Office of Inclusion and Diversity on the second floor of Campion Student Center took place on Jan. 24.

The center is for students, faculty, and staff to utilize for their own needs, such as meetings, studying, office hours, or socializing.

“I want to see students working with one another,” said Assistant Provost for Inclusion and Diversity Monica Nixon. “The space is primarily a student space. But, I would like this space to be used by department hosting programs or if faculty and staff want to do office hours over here.”

University President Mark C. Reed, Ed.D. wanted to create a space that everyone could utilize and feel invited.

“The space represents the university’s firm commitment to provide a safe and welcoming environment for all students… where our community can gather with open minds and hearts, host meetings, forums and engage in important dialogue,” said Reed.

Kayla Walker, ‘16, Program Coordinator for Women’s Center and LGBTQIA programs, said this space was needed when she was a student involved with the original Office of Inclusion and Diversity.

“As a student, I felt, each year it became more and more obvious that we began to grow out of our space,” Walker said. “Especially as we started to do more things for the office. I think what’s really unique about what the center is now is that it is really a home base for a lot of students.”

When brainstorming what the center should include, the Office of Inclusion and Diversity felt they wanted a space that was welcoming and an open environment for everyone.

“We were asked what do you need rather than can you work with this,” said Natalie Walker Brown Director for Student Inclusion and Diversity. “Our offices previously operated as centers and now we actually have

a center that can provide a lounge and study space. So it really just came about because it was St. Joe’s showing a commitment to the idea of diversity and inclusion and standing behind it.”

The center has a lounge, a quiet study room, an LGBTQIA lounge, and a conference room.

“The idea is to get various groups together to collaborate, to think of ways to do programming instead of having one group do one day and another group do another,” said Cary Anderson, Vice President for Student Life. “Maybe they can come together and have a bigger program to make a bigger impact.”

Alim Young, ’19, Senator for Inclusion and Diversity, works in the new center and said the space has the potential to benefit students and faculty on campus.

“It is a great opportunity to showcase diversity in a sense where it is not just this office or department that has this amenity that is very inclusive and diverse,” Young said. “So the opportunity for different departments around the university to come together and say they want to collaborate on a grander scale so it can impact the campus as a whole. It is a good opportunity to be visible and to be here.”

The Office for Inclusion and Diversity is meant to allow different organizations and clubs a more convenient place to meet.

“It is a place students can feel a little more at home,” said Jennifer Dessus, Director for Inclusion and Diversity Access Programs. “They can see many of the folks that already support them altogether in one space, they don’t have to go to different places on campus.”

Collaboration is another aspect of the center needed to make it helpful for the whole Saint Joseph’s community.

“It is important to think about what inclusion and diversity means as an office and then who is in the center, because we have the capacity to collaborate with those other places even though they are not here in Campion,” Walker said.

The office was also created to act as a reminder to students that St. Joe’s is a welcoming space.

“I asked students if they found their place on campus where they feel as if [they] belong and…many of the students that utilize the center, their answers are yes,” Dessus said. “So that is what this is. To bring in students who are wandering around campus and helping them find a place where they belong and can thrive academically, and socially and be able to say Hawk Hill was a great experience for them. So it is an all-encompassing space.”

Nixon is very happy with the space and thinks it is a great way we promote inclusion and diversity.

“Raising the visibility and the profile that this work is central to what it is we do and mission focused,” Nixon said. “It brings people together in a way I think folks have
really been looking for. I don’t want all inclusion and diversity work to happen in this space. This space is such a good one that it is a connection point.”

Reed wants to ensure everyone that this space is where people can begin to understand one another and that starts with a productive and meaningful discussion.

“The Center was intentionally designed to encourage conversation,” Reed said. “There is no better way to learn about one another. It is my sincere hope that many new connections are made within our community because of everyday encounters at the Center for Inclusion and Diversity.”