Equity and Inclusion: Mount Wachusett’s Inaugural Chief Diversity Executive
By Maddie Willigar | Editor-in-Chief
Newly appointed Chief Diversity Executive, Stephanie Williams, started her position at the Mount on April 4. Though the pandemic delayed this position from being created sooner, President Vander Hooven and Williams believe this role will foster an inclusive environment where students can be successful.
Before Williams started in April, Vander Hooven said that the biggest quality he was looking for when searching for someone to fill this position was someone who had “significant experience in leading in complex organizations.”
He explained that the various branches of MWCC, such as the theatre and fitness center, credit/noncredit courses, and training/job development, all come together to make “a very complex organization.” Therefore, he felt that this level of “complexity” in terms of leadership needed to be present in the candidate that was chosen.
Having worked for the city of Worcester as the Chief Diversity Officer before coming to the Mount, Vander Hooven said, “we certainly found that in Stephanie Williams,” and added that they were “fortunate that she was interested and ready for the position.”
Williams explained that the main reason she was initially drawn to this position was because, unlike many other organizations, this position wasn’t created with a “reactionary” mindset in response to a specific event such as the murder of George Floyd or things that have occurred since then. Williams said, “It was a need; the Mount saw the need and created the position.”
In fact, before he came to the Mount five years ago, Vander Hooven said that this position was already viewed as a need. In terms of the “opportunities” and “services” offered to students and staff to create a welcoming environment, Vander Hooven said, “We are constantly trying to make sure that the college is acting equitably.”
As a result, they started building towards putting this position into place a few years before the pandemic; however, this process was delayed until November and December of 2021 after the pandemic hit.
Yet now, with this role in place as of April 4, Vander Hooven said Williams will be working with various teams throughout the college, such as human resources, student services, and the leadership team, to participate in conversations that ensure that decisions made by the college are looked at “through an equity lens.”
“It’s been great so far. It’s already prompted conversations around the college that we probably would not have had leading up to that,” Vander Hooven said.
Williams emphasized that a role like this is “much needed” in college settings because the “core” of higher education is about expanding and advancing “students’ knowledge around different perspectives.” This includes being able to provide students with insight on the world and themselves.
But creating an environment in which inclusion is supported, Williams said, depends on the institution’s “culture” and how well they promote transparency, receptiveness, and creativity, as well as how willing they are to listen to and welcome the perspectives and experiences of others.
Williams added, “You can have as much diversity as you want, but diversity without inclusion is exclusion, and this is not just for students but also for employees. Without inclusion, we’d fail to leverage the diversity of our talent pool, students, incorporate various perspectives, and involve different approaches, which limits overall success.”
Williams noted that supporting an environment of equity and inclusion also helps improve students’ learning environments as it provides students with opportunities to be surrounded by various groups of people, ways of thinking, and methods of operation.
Williams said, “when you get out into the world, you really need to be equipped and prepared to…not only have emotional and social intelligence, but understand what triggers you, understand how you show up, how you communicate, and how to really be culturally competent with other individuals.”
This expected improvement in the learning environment, Vander Hooven said, is one of the biggest reasons he wanted this position in the first place. However, he also explained that one reason why this job is important for colleges to have in general is because as jobs have become increasingly reliant on a student’s level of education and the skills they are able to demonstrate, students need “access to the services that will enable them to be successful.”
Vander Hooven said, “We owe it to our region to make sure we are doing everything we can to ensure the success of students who come in with those aspirations, and this role, I believe, is going to help keep taking steps in that direction.”
As a result of this position, Vander Hooven said he would like to see improvement in student success rates and the “retention of diverse employees.” Williams said that she hopes there will be “award-winning and recognizable programs” as well as “initiatives and infrastructure” exclusive to MWCC surrounding concepts of equity and inclusion. But also, that they build on existing programs to focus more on these concepts as well.
Williams concluded, “The Mount is doing amazing things, and as a DEI practitioner, I am extremely impressed with how far we have gone and the work that’s already being done. There are some great initiatives going on here that even bigger institutions aren’t doing, so I am very proud to be in this environment where there is so much ability to be creative and create these new pathways… and opportunities.”
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