ALWAYS have a back-up plan. (personal correspondence, February 22, 2015) There is a great deal of wisdom that Derek learned from his first experience. He wrote: The work of diversity and inclusion is only as important as your administration makes it. My work is much like changing the tide: It's not changed by one factor, it's the 1,000 small factors that cause it to change. My work is much more about investing in the lives of students. (personal correspondence, February 22, 2015) In spite of the knowledge he acquired, and in spite of the support he receives, the reality remains that the experience of a professional of color working at an evangelical Christian college is far from easy. I believe it takes a deep toll on them not simply because of the stress of the work, but because of the stress it presents to their lived experience and identity. Within a few months of our in-person conversation, the incidents at Ferguson, Missouri brought conversation about race to the forefront of many college conversations. On my own campus, we were hosting conversations and creating space for dialogue and topical, critical explorations of the events, attempting to help students make sense of the incident and other similar incidents. I asked Derek what was happening at Matthew College. He said, the news broke, I knew we needed some immediate “When responses.” office worked to coordinate the creation of safe spaces on campus specifically Derek’s for students of color, although open to all, to come and process. A respected American faculty member who helped facilitate the conversation within this space joined him. Derek said, sent out a mass email around 10:15am to invite students to this time. “I I intentionally did not send it out campus wide because I wanted it to be a majority of color audience. I expected 10-15 students, but 28 students showed up. students’ Derek recounted the experience like this:
ALWAYS have a back-up plan. (personal correspondence, February 22, 2015) There is a great deal of wisdom that Derek learned from his first experience. He wrote: The work of diversity and inclusion is only as important as your administration makes it. My work is much like changing the tide: It's not changed by one factor, it's the 1,000 small factors that cause it to change. My work is much more about investing in the lives of students. (personal correspondence, February 22, 2015) In spite of the knowledge he acquired, and in spite of the support he receives, the reality remains that the experience of a professional of color working at an evangelical Christian college is far from easy. I believe it takes a deep toll on them not simply because of the stress of the work, but because of the stress it presents to their lived experience and identity. Within a few months of our in-person conversation, the incidents at Ferguson, Missouri brought conversation about race to the forefront of many college conversations. On my own campus, we were hosting conversations and creating space for dialogue and topical, critical explorations of the events, attempting to help students make sense of the incident and other similar incidents. I asked Derek what was happening at Matthew College. He said, “When the news broke, I knew we needed some immediate responses.” Derek’s office worked to coordinate the creation of safe spaces on campus specifically for students of color, although open to all, to come and process. A respected faculty member who helped facilitate the conversation within this space joined him. Derek said, “I sent out a mass email around 10:15am to invite students to this time. I intentionally did not send it out campus wide because I wanted it to be a majority students’ of color audience. I expected 10-15 students, but 28 students showed up. Derek recounted the experience like this: American
Pollom_Dissertation_Final.docx