February 2016
Dear Parents and Families,
As the university’s new Chief Diversity Officer, I am grateful for the opportunity to communicate with you about Tufts’ commitment to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive living and learning environment. Having done diversity work in higher education for nearly two decades, it is my sincere hope that I can contribute to making Tufts a safe and inclusive home-away-from-home for your student.
Perhaps some of you wonder what a chief diversity officer’s role is on campus; i.e., what does a chief diversity officer do to make the campus a more equitable and inclusive place? To understand this role, it is important to understand the terms we frequently use when discussing a chief diversity officer’s responsibilities. “Diversity” is a term used to convey having broad representation of people in our environment across dimensions of difference such as race, gender, sexuality, religion, disability, veteran status, socioeconomic class, etc. “Equity” means having systems and structures on our campus that ensure we are all treated fairly and with dignity while we are at work or school. And “inclusion” means having proactive efforts that foster an open climate where all people can be their fullest selves while at Tufts. Thus, my role is to make sure that Tufts is striving to achieve all three across our entire university.
Likewise, I see my work as articulating a vision of what the campus should look like in the future, bringing existing diversity efforts into alignment with our larger goals, and by collaboratively working with others to create new efforts that support the diverse communities we have at Tufts. Some examples include: standardizing the way we recruit and retain faculty, staff, and students; disseminating data around our diversity goals; and responding directly to concerns raised by members of our community.
The work I do is also rooted in a large body of research on diversity in higher education that suggests there are substantial benefits that accrue to all students when they attend a university that is diverse, particularly across race and social class. When students attend a diverse institution that provides opportunities for formal (classroom) and informal (extra-curricular) engagement across difference, those students find themselves far more prepared to successfully enter and thrive in a diverse workforce and an increasingly global society. I want every student at Tufts to engage these opportunities so that they can be successful in their future careers while also building a society that treats every member with dignity and respect.
Recent national events have also made diversity concerns front and center in many people’s awareness. Those national events have prompted students here to become more active in making Tufts and the surrounding communities places that are safer, kinder, and more socially just, particularly for marginalized communities. I welcome and encourage this kind of activism that asks institutions of higher education to reaffirm their commitment to diversity in concrete and measurable ways.
I wish to close by letting you know that in addition to my professional commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, I have a personal commitment to it as well. I never forget that though diversity issues are often fraught with conflict, they affect the lives of real people, myself included. Despite that difficulty, I ask us all to continue this vital work and want you to know that you, and the student you send to Tufts, will always find an open door to my office. Please contact me with any ideas, thoughts or concerns you may have as we continue to build a more inclusive Tufts.
Sincerely,
Mark Brimhall-Vargas, Ph.D.
Chief Diversity Officer and Associate Provost