Whitman Dean Eugene Anderson and students discussed diversity issues in Syracuse University’s business school and proposed the creation of an “assistant dean of institutional culture” during a forum in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management on Tuesday afternoon.

Starting at 1:30 p.m., the forum was attended by roughly 50 people, about half of whom were faculty. It was the second forum Whitman has hosted since the permanent expulsion of the Theta Tau professional engineering fraternity. Videos published by The Daily Orange last week showed Theta Tau fraternity members using racial slurs and miming the sexual assault of a person with disabilities.

After the forum concluded about 45 minutes earlier than originally scheduled, Anderson outlined the job description of a possible assistant dean of institutional culture in an interview with The D.O.

The new dean is “a person who is supposed to be really driving the fostering of a culture of belonging in this school,” Anderson said.

He said the new dean would be responsible for fixing faculty diversity issues; addressing diversity training for orientation leaders and incoming students; and examining how diversity topics are included in Whitman’s curriculum.

“Those are some of the tactical, specific things we’re going to try and do to increase representation (of) faculty of color,” Anderson said.

The proposal for that position was included in a strategic plan for Whitman presented to SU in December, Anderson said, and also appropriated for in Whitman’s budget. The budget was submitted to the university last month, Anderson said.

He also said that he plans to personally oversee the process of hiring each future Whitman faculty member to ensure that candidates from underrepresented groups are given a chance to hold a position.

Anderson said the goal is to not only hire faculty that will represent the current students in Whitman, but faculty who can be representative of Whitman students in 10 years.

“If you’ve left behind women, members from underrepresented groups, you’ve got to explain why you’re doing that,” Anderson said.

Esther Shmagin, a senior marketing major, said she worries that all the work of addressing diversity and inclusion issues will be put on the shoulders of the new appointee, if hired.

She wants there to be someone serving as a liaison between students and faculty, she said, but so long as they have proper support.

“It can’t just be the sole solution,” Shmagin said. “It can’t just be pinning it on the dean of institutional culture.”

Aaliyah Roseman, a senior in Whitman, was the first to speak after Anderson’s opening remarks. She said she was upset by the event’s poor turnout, and how the forum was being run by white men.

After the forum, Roseman said she hopes that the proposed new dean position will serve to offer students more information about the school. Before the forum, she didn’t know that a new dean would potentially be hired.

At present, Anderson holds bi-weekly office hours for students to talk with him. Roseman has visited them, she said, and hopes that if a new assistant dean is hired, they’ll expand that accessibility.

During the forum, one student said they have only had one professor of color teaching a class in their three years studying at Whitman. Roseman, a senior, didn’t have a class with a professor of color until last semester, she said.

“I’m so happy that I had this class and was able to see that Whitman does employ people like that,” Roseman said.

Shmagin said that because her major, marketing, is more diverse, she has a slightly different experience. Still, she knows that Whitman’s pool of professors is predominantly made up of white men. A more diverse pool of faculty enhances the experience of every student, Shmagin said.

“When I learn from and I interact with diverse faculty and staff, that benefits me too, obviously,” Shmagin said.

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MORE COVERAGE:

• Second Theta Tau video shows mimed sexual assault of person with disabilities
• SU will not publicly release names of students in Theta Tau investigation
• Complaints filed against 18 people present at Theta Tau event
• Multicultural Greek organizations find inspiration for activism in Theta Tau videos

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Published on April 24, 2018 at 9:50 pm

Contact Andrew: [email protected] | @A_E_Graham