Abstract
Staff from cultural centers and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices will present their experiences as leaders that are often responding to contested times due to their roles and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion as heart work. Examples of contested times include financial constraints, anti-immigrant policies of the Trump administration, Black Lives Matter uprisings in response to increased visibility of police violence, and reimagining the role of centers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The chapter will explore how the authors' identities have shaped their leadership approach to build capacity by centering student needs and engaging campus partners. The chapter ends with the authors outlining approaches and next steps for supporting cultural centers and DEI offices during crises.
“Sometimes just being yourself is the radical act. When you occupy space in systems that weren’t built for you, your authenticity is your activism.” Elaine Welteroth
TopIntroduction
Cultural and Identity centers, referenced in this chapter as cultural/identity centers, in colleges and universities play a pivotal role within higher education spaces: to support the personal, professional, and social development of college students (Patton Davis, 2010). Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) centers in colleges and universities give visual representation that historically marginalized students matter. Over time institutions of higher educations' populations have within its population to enable other groups to receive an opportunity to obtain a degree. The Higher Education Act of 1965 enabled marginalized students to access postsecondary institutions. However, societal crises have affected student populations' sense of belonging by creating experiences of uncomfortability, trickling down to the spaces of higher education equipped to support these student populations.
Since the creation of the first cultural center in 1967 at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, 100 cultural centers were founded in higher education institutions across the country (Patton, 2010). Cultural centers are known to foster a sense of belonging for students of color in predominantly white institutions, which made them a “home away from home, and a haven in a hostile territory” (Patton, 2010, Preface section). Even as college campuses become more racially and ethnically diverse, cultural centers are being founded at two and four-year institutions and as recently as 2018. New identity centers have also been established to serve additional populations, such Undocumented Student Resource Centers (Cisneros & Valdivia, 2018; Cisneros & Valdivia, 2020), Disability Cultural Center (Chiang, 2020), and LGBTQ Centers (Sanlo, Rankin, & Schoenberg, 2002). The positions associated with cultural/identity centers have also evolved into Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) at the executive level or unit levels.
More recently, cultural/identity centers’ mission has expanded to advance social justice, equity, and inclusion through educational programming or interventions geared towards the entire campus community (Patton, 2010). In this book chapter, the authors, draw upon their cultural/identity center experience to share reflections on reimagining leadership during constant contested times. This includes how their identities impact their leadership decisions and operating in times of crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic, police violence, anti-immigrant policies of the Trump Administration, and the recession position higher education and educators to reckon with anti-blackness, white supremacy, and economic inequality.
Our intention with providing our testimonios is so that other cultural/identity center staff can access our knowledge so that their centers can thrive in times of crisis. We also hope that this will be beneficial to the personal growth of higher education professionals and provide continued encouragement in the heart work, the personal work to build community within identity-based centers, provide quality support to students, and bring visibility to Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities. In this chapter, we will position cultural/identity centers and DEI offices as a community of cultural wealth and, by extension, the staff as possessing cultural capital that has been essential in transforming higher education institutions through social justice, equity, and inclusion (Yosso, 2005).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Cultural Centers: Cultural centers are physical campus spaces, such as a room, building, or wing, that provide educational and personal support to college students. They are counterspaces (Yosso & Benevides Lopez, 2010 AU20: The in-text citation "Yosso & Benevides Lopez, 2010" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ) that encourage student development and success by centering a specific student identity and community. Cultural Centers have a history of being born from student activism and alongside ethnic studies or related academic programs. Some examples of cultural centers are Latinx Cultural Centers, Black Cultural Centers, and Asian American Cultural Centers.
DEI Offices: Diversity, equity, and inclusion offices sometimes house cultural/identity centers, ethnic studies, and international student services (Gose, 2013 AU21: The in-text citation "Gose, 2013" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ). Some models entail a single senior diversity officer or Vice President to lead DEI efforts in faculty training and development, including curriculum review. DEI offices may focus on student affairs and or faculty engagement (Gose, 2013 AU22: The in-text citation "Gose, 2013" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Identity Center: Identity centers on college campuses focus on a specific identity/community in their purpose and mission. Centers like Undocumented Student Resource Centers, Veteran Resource Centers, and Disability Resource Centers are examples of identity centers. These centers are charged to serve and tailor support to a specific community and people who share a specific identity.