2023

 

Bethany Butson Crowell, PhD

Title: Director of Business Intelligence, David Eccles School of Business
Affiliation: University of Utah
Organization Type: Public, 4-year or above

Relevant Experience

• Over the span of 15 years, gained both a depth and breadth of experience across multiple institutional research contexts including community college, public land grant university (central IR office), and a business school (college-level IR office).
• Provided strategic leadership in the development, analysis, interpretation, and reporting of data for the purposes of institutional research, planning, program review, and accreditation. Created and maintained meaningful data visualizations via Tableau. Contributed to the improvement of university-wide data governance by serving on steering committee and providing recommendations.
• Led the newly branded Data & Software Solutions Group in the David Eccles School of Business, composed of two data analysts engaged in traditional IR work and a four-person Salesforce team which provides operational and reporting solutions that are not available from central campus.
• Served as IPEDS keyholder and university data steward; held various volunteer roles for AIR, INAIR, and for the Association of American Universities Data Exchange, and currently co-chair the accountability sub-committee for EDI in the David Eccles School of Business.

What is your leadership vision that you will implement in this role, especially in terms of equity and inclusion?

My ethos is to lead by example, demonstrating to my employees a strong work ethic, respect for my colleagues, and dedication to data integrity. It’s also very important to me to be a good mentor to my employees. I want to pay forward all the valuable mentorship I’ve received throughout my IR career. To that end, in this role I want to make sure the organization is providing opportunities to all its members to build on their skillset and advance their careers.

DEI is not isolated from the goals above but is woven into each one and incorporated in the practices of my day-to-day work. For example, in providing opportunities for our members, are there EDI obstacles that we should be considering? In this role, I look forward to working with, and learning from, a group of diverse backgrounds and opinions to advance the organization.

How will you help AIR to foster inclusive and diverse leadership and engagement opportunities for current and future members?

As a member of the leadership team, I believe we should tap into the wisdom of our colleagues who are experts in DEI, as well as outside consultants, to learn more about what our organization could be doing, and then act on those recommendations. In addition, over the past couple of years the AIR Board of Directors has been focused on identifying and addressing DEI issues within the organization. Surveying members of our organization to better understand how they feel about the work that has been done, and what could be done moving forward, would be a great next step.

The priority will be to make sure DEI stays on the agenda. In other words, let’s keep thinking about it, talking about it, and doing something about it. This is not a one-time initiative, but an ongoing endeavor. For example, I really enjoyed the keynote presentation at the 2022 AIR Forum. The organization should provide similar keynote presentations every year at the forum.

What pressing issues will institutional research need to take action on to maintain and enhance its value to higher education?   

I think the most pressing issues include student affordability and accessibility; technology; equity, diversity, and inclusion; and data integrity (broadly and specifically in rankings). I would love to see cross collaboration between campus researchers (e.g. faculty) and institutional researchers to work together on these issues. For example, IR offices could partner with faculty from their school of technology on campus to address how to best utilize technology in the classroom based on results of a campus-wide survey. As another example, IR offices could partner with faculty from their school of business to develop long term budgeting plans for students to pay for their education. (As a student, if I had better information regarding financial planning, I would surely have done things differently in terms of my student loans). Regarding rankings, institutions should build on the momentum that has already started regarding the examination of what the ranking is trying to accomplish versus what is in the best interest of our current and future students.

The value of IR will always exist (mandated reporting responsibilities, fact books, data visualizations). Our talents should be leveraged in new ways by engaging in multi-disciplinary opportunities to work on addressing more pressing issues in higher education.

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Brent Drake, PhD

Title: Senior Vice President for Operations and Research
Affiliation: The John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education
Organization Type: Non-profit

Relevant Experience

• I have 22 years of experience in Institutional Research and Effectiveness across multiple departmental types including Institutional Research, Assessment, Institutional Effectiveness, Decision Support, Accreditation, Student Success, Enrollment Management, and Institutional Technology.
• I served directly at two public 4 year institutions, as the Chief Data Officer at Purdue University and the Vice Provost for Decision Support at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In my current role with the Gardner Institute, I work directly with institutions from across the entire educational sector. In its 24-year history the Gardner Institute has work with over 530 institutions including over 81 HSIs, over 55 HBCUs, and 5 tribal serving institutions.
• I presently serve at the Gardner Institute which focuses on DEI matters as a part of its core mission. We seek to remove race/ethnicity, family income, and family zip code as predictors of student success so that every student can graduate. In my previous position at UNLV, I was on the executive committee and the chair of the data and assessment group for the Minority Serving Institution Task Force.
• I spent the last year serving on the AIR future of Institutional Research adhoc committee, which has been focused on what the organization and profession need to focus on in the next 3-5 years and beyond.

What is your leadership vision that you will implement in this role, especially in terms of equity and inclusion?

I have spent my 22 years in higher education institutional research focused on student success. Specifically, I have worked to create environments where every student can be successful regardless of their demographics or family background. My personal journey in higher education has become more focused in this regard moving from one of the leading R1 institutions, to an MSI, HSI, AANAPISI institution, to a non-profit educational organization that’s mission meets this ethos. I passionately believe that our students, our institutions, and our society as a whole is better when we work to create higher educational environments and systems that produce equitable student outcomes.

I believe that Institutional Research and Effectiveness is ideally positioned to help foster and navigate the necessary conversations and work to produce more equitable and inclusive environments. IR/IE sits at the nexus of institutional history and data that allows us to gain insights into the outcomes of previous decisions and guide future decisions that can create more equitable environments. As a profession we possess the knowledge and skills to help our institutions make data informed decisions that will impact equity, institutional performance, and student success.

How will you help AIR to foster inclusive and diverse leadership and engagement opportunities for current and future members?

While Institutional Research and Effectiveness is well positioned to help guide conversations on more inclusive and diverse environments, we do have some work to do on promoting our diversity as a profession. The latest national survey of Institutional Research offices indicates that 68.3% of all respondents identified as White (7.1% did not provide a race/ethnicity or replied other), that is compared to 63.5% of all higher education employees, and 60.4% of non-instructional staff identifying as White in the most recent Digest of Education Statistics. We can improve upon this by continuing to promote our discipline as an important and viable path for recent postsecondary graduates, and expanding our efforts to listen to and promote every member of our organization, particularly those that have been historically underrepresented. Within our network of affiliate IR organizations, that then roll up to our national AIR, we have a structure that allows for professional development and promotion of every institutional research professional at every one of our institutions. It is part of our National AIR leaderships' responsibility to promote the link between our regional affiliates and the national organization to provide expanded opportunities for individuals who have not been as historically represented to assume greater leadership roles within AIR.

What pressing issues will institutional research need to take action on to maintain and enhance its value to higher education?   

This has been a great topic of discussion with the AIR future of Institutional Research adhoc committee this year. While we are still completing our final report to AIR leadership, we have been circling around some common themes that IR/IE as a profession needs to focus on in the coming years. They include the need to communicate the value of IR/IE to campus leaderships, diversity, equity, and Inclusion matters, a continued focus on student success, and leadership skills for IR/IE professionals.

More specifically, we need to better articulate the value of having our professions' skill set in evaluating campus issues to campus leadership, to make sure our voice is involved in key decisions. We need to both promote efforts to better diversify the IR/IE profession, and we need to emphasize the utilization of data to bring awareness of equity issues inherent on our campuses. We also must absolutely maintain our focus on student success as a profession. It is ultimately the common mission of all of higher education, and is where we bring some of the greatest value to our collective campuses. Finally, we need to further focus on our relationship building, both on our campuses and for the organization on a national level. In so doing we need to emphasize our professions' skills in communicating and teaching about data, governance, and key institutional knowledge to expand IR/IE's leadership on key postsecondary matters.

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Craig W. Abbey

Title: Vice Provost for Institutional Analysis and Planning
Affiliation: University at Buffalo, State University of New York
Organization Type: Public, 4-year or above

Relevant Experience

• Association for Institutional Research: Nominations and Elections Committee, 2020-21 to 2021-22; Forum Committee, 2013-2016; Forum Proposal Reviewer, various years; 38-time workshop / webinar / session presenter; member since 2004.
• APLU Commission on Information, Management and Analysis, 2017 to present, Executive Committee 2019 to 2022.
• Association of American Universities Data Exchange, Council 2015-16 to 2017-18, 2022-23; Council Chair 2016-17; Data Use and Privacy Committee, 2014; Strategic Planning Committee, Chair 2019-20.

What is your leadership ethos that you will use in this role, especially in terms of equity and inclusion?

I believe that effectively serving on the AIR board requires listening to and understanding the needs of members from institutions across sectors, Carnegie groups, institutions sizes and regions. To ensure that the mission and objectives of the association are achieved requires empowering individuals from all backgrounds in their professional development from methods and tools to leadership development. The opportunities and programs provided by the association should reflect the diversity of members and their needs.

How will you help AIR to foster inclusive and diverse leadership and engagement opportunities for current and future members?

The role of the AIR Board is to set the desired objectives and outcomes of the organization while the Executive Director and professional staff implement programs to meet these goals. Through service on the board, I will work to ensure that the association continues its goals of advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion in higher education by focusing inclusive and diversity language in the association’s objectives. Measurable outcomes that track the association’s progress and that are available to membership can help ensure progress, accountability, and evaluation.

What pressing issues will institutional research need to take action on to maintain and enhance its value to higher education?

The seemingly endless addition of reporting mandates continues to burden institutional researchers, particularly in small offices. Reducing the burden of mandated reporting will free up time to address student outcome performance gaps, graduation rates and overall student success. IR professionals risk becoming too burdened by data reporting to conduct the analysis that can drive deeper understanding of institutional issues and propel our institutions forward. Meeting foundational data governance, preparation, and reporting needs is required to build out analytics and statistical modeling.

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Angela Bell

Title: Vice Chancellor for Research and Policy Analysis
Affiliation: University System of Georgia
Organization Type: System Office

Relevant Experience

• My role for over 14 years as the head of the research office at two state systems of higher education consisting of diverse institutions mean that I am well-informed about the state of the field, challenges facing it, and the opportunities ahead in supporting policy and practice with timely and relevant information.
• I have been well-prepared for board leadership through leading the system strategic planning process at both of those state systems and also directing system-wide projects like the development of system data governance policy and subsequent support of institutions in meeting that policy.
• I have worked over the past 8 years to elevate analytical capacity at system institutions through solicitation of needs, provision of resources, and overseeing efficient creation and provision of innovative analytical tools for campus personnel. This work is intentionally designed to elevate the ability of our smaller and less selective institutions better meet their access and student success mission.
• I have regularly engaged in service to the field such as recently serving as a Complete College America Fellow (2017-21) and on the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities Data Council (2021-21), both of which roles focused on improving use of data to advance student success and equity in diverse higher education institutions.
• The broad network of both institution and system institutional research colleagues I have developed through participation in state, regional, and national organizations positions me well to gather input and perspectives and foster engagement to advance AIR.

What is your leadership ethos that you will use in this role, especially in terms of equity and inclusion?

My leadership ethos in my daily work is to set high expectations for myself and others for service and quality of work; value my team by providing needed resources and latitude to creatively execute; remove obstacles and collaboratively problem solve; and acknowledge successes. I see this manifesting in the AIR Board position in working diligently and being accountable in developing the organization’s direction and finding paths to resolve its challenges. Valuing team means soliciting, valuing, and elevating alternate perspectives from both other board members and membership to derive direction and solve problems. Inherently being an IR professional involves leveraging the best information and evidence to make decisions; I will work to undergird board deliberations with information and data about AIR activities and engagement as well as inputs from the field more broadly.

How will you help AIR to foster inclusive and diverse leadership and engagement opportunities for current and future members?

Inclusive and diverse leadership and member engagement are critical to viability of a professional organization, especially one like AIR with a commitment to equity in its mission. For AIR, this pertains not only to diversity in the people themselves but in the institutional contexts and roles in which those professionals serve. To foster inclusive leadership, I will prioritize diversity in leadership as a goal in and of itself. I will operationalize that by promoting leadership criteria that account for the fact that historical positions and opportunities may not have been equitably available to all and instead privilege in leadership criteria capabilities, potential, and vision. I will also leverage my large state and national networks to actively reach out to invite participation from diverse members.

The greatest resources of a professional organization are the experience, skills, and ideas of all its members. Promoting the means for all members to share with, and learn from, one another equitably leverages those resources. I will do this by first advocating for the use of disaggregated historical engagement data to understand those patterns and collaborate on a strategy to address disparities. This can include proactively asking a diverse range of members to contribute with their experience rather than relying on volunteers. Broadening engagement also requires responding to the needs felt across the organization. We can use organizational survey expertise to deliberately solicit needs from members and use the disaggregated response data to prioritize meeting the needs of historically marginalized groups and professionals in underrepresented contexts.

What pressing issues will institutional research need to take action on to maintain and enhance its value to higher education?

One pressing issue is limited IR resources at certain institutions including community colleges, minority-serving institutions, and small institutions. As an IR leader for a system of 26 diverse institutions, I have worked to raise analytical capacity across the system through data provision (IPEDS, accountability reports, etc.) which frees campus staff for value-added tasks. We also raise analytic capacity through providing reports and interactive data tools that most campuses lack capacity to produce. Beyond state systems, the field must explore meeting analytical needs through sharing, consortial arrangements, and systems thinking. This can involve developing alternative staffing models that leverage resources, expertise, and tools across institutions. Ensuring that less well-resourced schools, which disproportionately serve low-income and racial and ethnic minority students, have the analytic capacity to fulfill their mission is an equity imperative.

Another pressing issue is responsibly handling our growing volumes and types of data through investing further in data privacy and governance work. This may not be as exciting as actually working with big data from increasingly real-time sources, but we must systematically avoid harms through breaches and inappropriate data use and thereby maintain the trust of stakeholders.

Finally, as higher education becomes increasingly politicized, we must work to remain impartial information providers. We all have opinions about higher education issues, but if we are seen as representing particular points of view, we cease to have credibility across perspectives. Achieving this requires honest discussions about what questions we ask and how they are analyzed and presented.

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Chris Orem

Title: Director of Institutional Research
Affiliation: James Madison University
Organization Type: Public, 4-year or above

Relevant Experience

• I have a decade of experience leading institutional research and strategic planning efforts in higher education, currently at a large, high research university and previously at a small rural community college. My diverse experiences provide me with a unique perspective about the challenges facing different types of institutional research offices.
• I serve on several university-wide groups, including my university’s president’s cabinet, our strategic planning team (chair), climate study working group, and data restructuring steering committee. Through my work, I understand the broad needs affecting higher education and ways that institutional research can help higher education leaders meet these needs.
• As an administrator, adjunct faculty member, and formerly a student affairs practitioner, my entire professional career has been focused on understanding and enhancing the student experience. In my role as an institutional researcher, these experiences shape the way I work with and present data.
• I am a participant in AIR LEADs, a cohort-based leadership program developed by AIR. Through this program, I have been able to meet and learn from a number of fellow AIR members who share a passion for this field and for shaping our influence in improving higher education.

What is your leadership ethos that you will use in this role, especially in terms of equity and inclusion?

As the leader of an institutional research office and a senior administrator at my institution, I welcome diverse perspectives and opinions from those with whom I work. I believe that open and objective communication allows me to engage with colleagues on a deeper level, helping to foster a mutual respect for different ideas that leads to more effective, collective decision-making. Through this exchange of ideas, my own beliefs and opinions evolve and I become a more informed person. I will use this ethos in my role on the AIR Board of Directors, sharing an openness to understand and value the perspectives that we all bring to our work in higher education in order to improve the quality of data-informed decision-making.

How will you help AIR to foster inclusive and diverse leadership and engagement opportunities for current and future members?

One of AIR’s strengths is the variety of ways it allows members to engage with the organization and to grow professionally. As someone who has delivered and participated in Forum presentations and online webinars for AIR, I have always been pleased at the diversity of offerings and will do what I can to solicit feedback from members about additional ways that AIR can serve our collective professional development. Further, as a member of the first cohort of the AIR LEADs program, a structured, cohort-based leadership program, I have experienced firsthand the efforts AIR takes to provide leadership development experiences to its members. As a member of the Board of Directors, I will help to ensure that engagement opportunities reflect the needs of the profession and that experiences like AIR LEADs continue to provide meaningful opportunities for networking and professional growth to as many interested members as possible.

What pressing issues will institutional research need to take action on to maintain and enhance its value to higher education?

Professionals in institutional research must be experts in making data accessible to our stakeholders. Accessibility includes making information readily available, but it also means that stakeholders know how to interpret the information appropriately, acknowledge its limitations, and use it to inform reasonable actions. To that end, data literacy efforts can start with IR professionals improving our own knowledge of best practices in visualizing data or improving our own ability to communicate data effectively. For those of us with the capacity to expand these efforts beyond our offices, we should consider campus-wide initiatives that increase data literacy of our institutional stakeholders. It benefits everyone when faculty, staff, and administrators are better equipped to use information more effectively to guide decisions about students, and these efforts start with us.

A second, pressing issue facing the field of institutional research today relates to our ability to inform our campuses of data related to matters of diversity, equity, and inclusion. It is no longer enough for IR offices to provide overall student success outcomes without being prepared to show how distinct populations of students fare as well. To maintain relevance, we must become more adept at providing equity-based outcomes analyses, using language that demonstrates an awareness of our diverse populations, and conducting research, such as campus climate studies, that help administrators understand and support the needs of all our students, faculty, and staff.

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Deborah A. Phelps

Title: Executive Director of Institutional Effectiveness
Affiliation: Cowley County Community College
Organization Type: Public, 2-year

Relevant Experience

• Experience with accreditation activities including the campus accreditation liaison role at both Higher Learning Commission AQIP and Open Pathway institutions. Principal editor for multiple systems portfolios and lead editor for my current organization’s upcoming assurance argument.
• State and federal data collection experience and support including IPEDS keyholder; Co-chair of Council of Institutional Researchers in Two-Year Organizations (KS, 2021-2022, 2022-2023); recipient of Kansas Board of Regents Data Quality Award (2022)
• Graduate education in organizational leadership and strategic planning with a focus on organizational use of data for making positive change. Strategic planning leadership on two campuses to include applying SWOT analysis, environmental scanning and facilitation of targeted SMART goals by multiple, planning teams.
• Role as administrative champion for Cowley College’s diversity, equity and inclusion team and past role as administrative champion for the campus’ shared governance team.
• Chair of Cowley College’s Knowledge Management team and lead of the “Tiger Ambush,” a data initiative started in 2018, to increase data literacy and use using tools including Tableau, a data visualization platform.

What is your leadership ethos that you will use in this role, especially in terms of equity and inclusion?

Advancing equity and inclusion is vital to create healthy organizational cultures that advance not only the traditional student success metrics but also the relevancy of higher education for future students. Those of us who work in the institutional research field must recognize that the ability to make truthful meaning from data begins with the institutional research professional’s ability to collect, analyze and present data that has been controlled for bias. And, data collection and subsequent messaging to our organizations can broaden our understanding of whether our students feel they belong, a key factor in engagement in services, retention, and persistence. If elected to this role, I will continue to emphasize the importance of “personalizing” data through awareness that information housed in our systems and databases provides us with an intersectional portrait of a unique human being who is counting on us to support their success.

How will you help AIR to foster inclusive and diverse leadership and engagement opportunities for current and future members?

I will help AIR foster inclusive and diverse leadership by remaining willing to listen and discuss opinions I may not understand and to advance ideas and solutions I haven’t thought of. I recognize that inclusion for others begins with me and will continue to monitor unconscious bias in all of my personal dealings with members and other colleagues. And, as a “graying” member of the IR community, I’m eager to help provide opportunities for new IR professionals so our work continues to be vital into the future. As someone who found herself in the institutional research profession at a smaller institution with limited resources because of a belief in the power of change and strategic planning in combination with a love of efficiency and process management, I quickly realized success for my organization would only happen when I had a better than undergraduate grasp of data practices. I joined AIR early in my career because of the trainings and professional development opportunities available to me - I know there will be more, new IR professionals who will land in this field in a similar fashion and like me, they will benefit from continued expansion of training topics that not only address data collection and analysis skills but also help them communicate the importance of data for student success.

What pressing issues will institutional research need to take action on to maintain and enhance its value to higher education?

Higher education’s pressing issues will continue to be complicated and require nuanced, informed solutions where the use of data is foundational. In conjunction, I believe the perceived value of institutional research on our campuses is directly related to organizational application of data by stakeholders outside the data office. While there are many pressing issues for action, the one I believe is foundational, and has been a focus of many of our members throughout their careers, is the increasing of data literacy skills for a variety of stakeholders. If decision makers across our campuses do not have the skills and tools to make meaning from the information provided to them, then the response to student and stakeholder needs will continue to be reactive and generalized instead of proactive and specific. Bringing the data out of the IR office through concentrated literacy efforts across the hierarchy of our institutions so colleagues are confident in their application of information to meet needs quickly will not only help us meet pressing issues but also enhance the value perception of IR work in higher education.

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Georgeanna Robinson

Title: Associate Director for Qualitative Research
Affiliation: Grinnell College
Organization Type: Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above

Relevant Experience

• My professional experience as an active, non-judgmental listener through years of conducting qualitative research positions me as an asset to many complicated conversations. I would bring to the leadership discussions my keen ability to seek multiple perspectives, then distill long and complex conversations and arguments to a few critical factors such that everyone in the room can understand the facets of the discussion and move forward with decision making.
• My research prioritizes human experience. As such, I am intrinsically driven to learn about and from people’s narratives. Only by understanding the ways in which diverse members have felt excluded can we remove those barriers and move toward inclusion; only by hearing from members about the moments they perceived as inequitable can we begin to make systematic changes to our operations to seek greater equity. Thus, I bring my innate interpersonal curiosity, the strong desire to raise up the work of our diverse members, and the ability to arrive at clarity, to offer the AIR membership.
• Because much of my professional work focuses on understanding and communicating the lived experiences of particular groups of students, DEI work is infused through much of my research. Specific DEI-related work includes a qualitative study of the campus experiences of domestic Black students, and another on the experiences of low-income students, both of which led to changes in support provided for these populations.

What is your leadership ethos that you will use in this role, especially in terms of equity and inclusion?

My leadership ethos is listening to understand the diverse perspectives that may exist around an issue. If there appear to be homogenous responses to a situation, I actively look for perspectives that may not be represented, or ask questions to ascertain the reason for the homogeneity. Synthesizing multiple, even conflicting, thoughts and opinions about a given question is at the heart of my work as a qualitative researcher, and I bring these same skills to my professional interactions. It is important to me that decision makers—the AIR Board, in this case—hear from both the loudest voices in the room and those who more frequently stay quiet for fear of not being heard or understood, or who feel that they do not have the attention they need to make their point. The listening skills I will bring to the Board will, I hope, encourage those who may have felt their perspectives, experiences, or opinions were not fully considered in the past to share their thoughts so they can contribute to the future direction of AIR.

How will you help AIR to foster inclusive and diverse leadership and engagement opportunities for current and future members?

I see one of the most fundamental actions AIR can take is to communicate continuously that we value of inclusivity and diversity. These articulations, however, must also be followed by action. Rather than assuming that I, as a white woman, can ascertain the most beneficial engagement opportunities for members, or can know what will entice a diverse group of members to step forward to lead AIR, I believe my strengths lie in asking the necessary questions and listening to responses from those whom we seek to serve, engage, and with whom we seek to lead. I will use the skills honed from 14 years of conducting interviews to listen actively and without judgement as I seek to understand diverse members’ motivations and experiences around the topics of inclusivity, diverse leadership, and engagement. Then, I believe in following the data, to incorporate what we have learned from our members with best practices from the organizational behavior, governance, and DEI bodies of literature, to test new strategies and fully engage our diverse members to get the best out of their AIR membership.

What pressing issues will institutional research need to take action on to maintain and enhance its value to higher education?

I see IR/IE’s greatest potential strength as the presentation of meaningful information. However, often we present only data and findings rather than the communicating their meaning. IR/IE professionals may not always attend to their audience’s data literacy and comprehension, and/or may not fully contextualize the findings to the nuances for any given audience. The arc of research extends to the communication of findings so multiple audiences understand potential courses of action in a situation. Only when leadership understands the complexity of the findings can they design a course of action. We as an association should increase education about sensitive communication with diverse audiences, and presenting complex data in a comprehensible way to audiences with any level of data literacy.

While recognizing that many institutions do not have the resources for a dedicated qualitative researcher, by advocating for a greater presence in IR/IE of rigorous qualitative work, we may attract more professionals with this skillset or may encourage existing IR/IE professionals to seek qualitative methods training. I see the relative dearth of high quality, in-depth qualitative research as a significant shortfall of much IR/IE work. For many offices, a free-response survey question is the extent of their qualitative data gathering. While the quantitative work is imperative for mandated reporting and understanding patterns, it often fails to convey the complexity of the lived experiences of an institution’s constituents. It captures the outcomes, often, but not the motivations. Only by understanding motivations to action can we effect change.

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Jocelyn Shadforth

Title: Director of Institutional Assessment
Affiliation: St. Edward’s University
Organization Type: Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above

Relevant Experience

• Twelve years’ experience in both academic and non-academic assessment, accreditation, program evaluation, and survey research at both 2- & 4-year institutions, both public and private
• Seventeen years as a full-time faculty member in political science
• Team-builder with strong planning and strategic thinking skills

What is your leadership ethos that you will use in this role, especially in terms of equity and inclusion?

Institutional research professionals are privileged in that they usually have access to all of the data. As a result, they also carry the responsibility of communicating the implications of that data to stakeholders with more specialized concerns. This is particularly important as more attention is devoted to equity and inclusion issues across higher education. My ability to communicate both the justice and fairness of decisions to different constituencies is informed by my experience as both an administrator and educator.

How will you help AIR to foster inclusive and diverse leadership and engagement opportunities for current and future members?

I am most interested in providing a strong foundation for new institutional research professionals who, while trying to sip from the fire hose that comes with starting a new career path, also have to negotiate environments trying to do more with less staffing, tighter budgets, and opportunities for professional development that are increasingly out of reach at most institutions of higher education. Any efforts to ease the costs of entry for new professionals will inevitably foster more diversity of both identity and experience for current and future members.

What pressing issues will institutional research need to take action on to maintain and enhance its value to higher education?

Institutional research professionals have an important role to play as higher education moves closer and closer to the demographic “cliff.” They must be included in any conversations and efforts to communicate the value of higher education as a public good to the general population. In addition, there needs to be increased information exchange across different educational sectors such as 2- year and 4-year, public and private, urban and rural populations.

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Eric Atchison

Title: Vice President for Strategic Research
Affiliation: Arkansas State University System
Organization Type: System Office

Relevant Experience

• I have previously served on the AIR (2016-2018) and SAIR (2019-2020) Nominations and Elections Committee under the leadership of the organizations' Immediate Past-President. With the possible shift in AIR governance and responsibilities of the NEC, I believe my experiences and perspectives will help move the NEC's work forward to continue the evolution of the mission and goals of the Association.
• Working within institutions, state agencies, and a university system has provided me with opportunities to connect and learn from public and private, two-year and four-year colleagues. I have served on numerous institutional committees focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Most recently, I served as a team member for the development of the Higher Learning Commission Quality Initiative project for Henderson State University focusing on the expansion of measuring and understanding student persistence and completion. Also, in 2020 I was appointed chair of the five-year plan for increasing targeted completions across the state.
• I have been a member and officer of professional associations such as MAIR (MS), AIRO (AR), SAIR, and AIR for almost 15 years and made numerous connections with fellow members. Additionally, through my service as an AIR IPEDS Educator and as a member of the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative, I have been able to further expand my professional network.
• As a co-founder of The Node for IR/IE weekly e-newsletter, we connect with more than 1,500 subscribers and receive regular feedback from our peers. We assess the changing nature of the IR/IE field in hopes of expanding our understanding of current challenges and opportunities.

What do diversity, equity, and inclusion mean to you?

My understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion has evolved through lived experiences and engaging with others and is always growing and evolving. Diversity is the process of recognizing the presence of and working to understand the viewpoints of individuals and groups that have lived experiences which differ from my own. Equity involves working towards not only equal access and opportunity but the removal of barriers and challenges that groups and individuals may face. Inclusion is the ability to recognize an absence of perspectives and mitigate this oversight. If we do not address all three of these ideas, any one of them is at risk of being incomplete.

What has influenced your thinking around diversity, equity, and inclusion that motivated you to get involved in serving on NEC?

I am forever grateful for the numerous opportunities to work across postsecondary sectors which helped me understand the importance of diverse thought and action to create equitable opportunities towards a more inclusive understanding of higher education. My first position in IR at an institution within one of the most impoverished regions of the U.S. helped me understand and respond effectively to students who faced numerous challenges. Working within two state systems with diverse institutional missions have shown me that understanding our constituents is the first step to working on their behalf on the NEC. As a co-publisher of The Node for IR/IE, when we engage with our audience through weekly polls, we try to better understand our work and ourselves in the context of higher education. These examples and many more have continued to show me the that DEI must remain at the center of what we do.

How would you go about ensuring the slate of candidates is diverse and inclusive?

As a member of the NEC, the diversity of candidates is instrumental to ensure those elected to serve on future AIR Boards and NECs reflect the diversity of the membership. Early in the process, if ensuring diversity was not noted as a point of discussion, I would request the chair of the NEC ensure this is discussed and understood by the committee to help the NEC accomplish their work. Once it is established how the NEC can ensure diverse viewpoints, I would continue to incorporate these goals into every meeting to ensure the candidates and membership feel confident in the work of the NEC.

What different perspectives or voices do you think should be represented on the Board/NEC? Why?

Just as the students and colleagues within our institutions come from a wide array of backgrounds, so to must the Board and NEC perspectives. Diverse voices should represent a variety of races and ethnicities, genders and gender identities, sexual orientations, geographies, institutional sectors (public / private / two-year / four-year / less than two-year), work history, and prior service to the profession.

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Ellissa Brooks Nelson

Title: Divisional Director, Student Affairs Research and Assessment
Affiliation: University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Organization Type: Public, 4-year or above

Relevant Experience

• I am currently serving on a taskforce at my institution that is focused on developing DEI shared language and standardization around how we gather and report data specific to the terms Historically Underrepresented, Marginalized, Minority/Minoritized, Person of Color/Student of Color, Underrepresented or Underrepresented Minority, and Underserved. The composition of this group includes the Chief Diversity Officer, Student Affairs, IR, Admissions, and Academic Affairs.
• I have conducted several workshops on Equity-minded assessment with staff throughout the Division of Student Affairs at my institution and I have been invited to present on this topic with members of the Association for Student Conduct Administration (ASCA) and peers at other institutions.
• I have had the opportunity to work not only in higher education research and assessment, but also strategic planning and evaluation within local government; research, evaluation, and data analytics in K-12; and research and evaluation within non-profit organizations.
• During my career, I have had the opportunity to help write data governance policies and have developed standard data collection protocols to enhance data collection procedures and efficiency.

What do diversity, equity, and inclusion mean to you?

While Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) are each defined differently, taken as a whole, mean to me the act of treating individuals with the same respect and integrity and allowing all individuals the same opportunities with the appropriate resources to promote successful outcomes. However, knowing that we all come from various backgrounds and experiences, it is critical to keep in mind that not all individuals need the same resources to be successful. It is important to understand each individual’s perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences to ensure they have the right resources and support in place to promote successful outcomes. Additionally, I truly believe that DEI creates and fosters an open learning environment that allows for a much broader perspective for problem-solving and developing innovative solutions for greater success. Finally, when it comes to creating change, it is not enough to just talk about DEI. There must be action behind words and I am committed to showing my commitment to DEI through my actions and not just my words. I have been able to do this through opportunities in both my professional and personal life and I will continue to embrace opportunities that will allow me to nurture my commitment to DEI related work and issues.

What has influenced your thinking around diversity, equity, and inclusion that motivated you to get involved in serving on NEC?

Both my personal and professional experiences have influenced my thinking around DEI which has ultimately led me to the candidacy to serve on the NEC. Through both my personal and professional experiences, I have had experiences that have helped me grow closer to self-awareness and better understanding of me and the world around me. I have learned how critical it is to be aware of our own biases and to understand how to keep our thinking in check. I’ve learned how understanding the value of names and pronouns is a sign of respect and acknowledges others’ backgrounds, cultures, and identities. I’ve learned that the language we use to communicate can have a profound impact on our peers and colleagues and to recognize that certain words or phrases have negative connotations and can be hurtful to others. I’ve learned how intersectionality recognizes that people have overlapping identities and complex experiences of prejudice and oppression. This is incredibly important in terms of understanding our own privilege and power as this is vital for us to be able to listen to and support others. For me, recognizing my privileges is one of the most important steps in helping to create sustainable, equitable, and inclusive change within our workplace and society as a whole. My personal growth in DEI has influenced me to pursue this opportunity to serve on NEC and if I am offered this opportunity, I will undoubtedly serve and support the AIR Board and its members with integrity and respect.

How would you go about ensuring the slate of candidates is diverse and inclusive?

First, it’s important to clearly outline the values that matter most to AIR by developing an objective method for assessing these qualities in candidates and define the weight given to such characteristics before selection begins. To avoid homogeneity and an environment conducive to “group think”, we’d need to consider what new traits candidates would bring to AIR to elevate culture and enhance the way we operate. Essentially, we’d need to determine what skills, knowledge and prospective gaps exist within current leadership membership and create targeted recruitment tactics to address those gaps.

What different perspectives or voices do you think should be represented on the Board/NEC? Why?

Board/NEC diversity matters – it’s incredibly important to ensure that we concentrate on both social and professional diversity. For social diversity, it is important that we not concentrate on only certain characteristics but rather expand and concentrate on power differentials and interrelated hierarchies or power dynamics that touch all facets of social life such as gender identify, race/ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, religion, education, nationality, physical ability, etc. In terms of professional diversity, it is important to have Board/NEC representation with a broad range of professional backgrounds within higher education. In addition, assessing skill sets that you would ideally want on the NEC/Board and then the skill sets that currently exist on the NEC/Board is a different but useful approach to filling vacant positions. For example, if the current NEC/Board members include only folks from IR/IE offices, it would make sense to look for opportunities to bring in new members with experience in other areas of higher education but that would be able to directly contribute to the work and mission of AIR. For example, AIR “supports the professional growth, skill development, and scholarship of professionals within institutional research and other related fields who fill a variety of critical roles, including institutional effectiveness, assessment, strategic planning, business intelligence, and more.” I see various roles within higher education that contribute to this statement above and beyond IR/IE that should be reflected within the NEC/Board members including but not limited to Student Affairs, IT, Academic Affairs, Financial Services, etc.

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Shari Ellertson

Title: Senior Executive Director Institutional Effectiveness
Affiliation: Boise State University
Organization Type: Public, 4-year or above

Relevant Experience

• I previously served as a member-at-large of the Board of Directors (2017-18 through 2019-20) and Board secretary in the last two years of my term. As such, I am well versed and experienced in the principles and practice of policy governance and I have a strong appreciation for its role in maintaining a strong Association. One of my contributions while serving on the Board was as a member of the committee working on the Statement of Ethical Principles. As part of the group, I proposed and coordinated on behalf of the Board two sessions at AIR Forum so that we could engage directly with members and invite their feedback.
• I have been involved in several statewide task forces and work groups – in two different states in which I have worked – that were charged with developing policies and procedures and/or launching initiatives. Most recently, I served on Idaho’s Statewide Data Management Council, a multi-agency group that provides recommendations on the oversight and management of the Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS).
• Throughout my career, I have served as a member or leader on countless campus committees and and collaborated closely with diverse groups of faculty, staff, and students. Recently, I have been contributing to our campus strategic enrollment and retention planning with University leaders and cross-functional teams to identify and address institutional performance gaps (i.e., equity gaps) for students who have been historically underserved. As a first-generation student myself, this work resonates strongly with me and aligns with my purpose in becoming an educator.

What do diversity, equity, and inclusion mean to you?

Diversity, equity, and inclusion means to me that all people are accepted and valued for their unique contributions and perspectives. To be an inclusive community, we need to create spaces where people feel seen and welcome and where we invite differing perspectives to the table. To be an inclusive community, we must be willing to examine critically how our policies and practices might encourage or discourage engagement, model inclusive behaviors, and create accessible spaces so that diverse perspectives are encouraged and we foster spaces in which people of all abilities can flourish. To be an inclusive community, we must encourage individuals to challenge their own assumptions, listen to understand, engage in difficult conversations, and maintain open minds and hearts. We can all learn from each other, and I would like AIR to be an exemplar in creating a diverse and rich community.

What has influenced your thinking around diversity, equity, and inclusion that motivated you to get involved in serving on NEC?

As a first-generation college student, I was unaware of all of the opportunities that were available to me during my undergraduate years. Fortunately, I developed relationships with a number of faculty and administrators who provided guidance to me then, and I have since had the good fortune of many mentoring relationships throughout graduate school and my career. Part of my motivation for serving is to honor my mentors by paying it forward to others in my professional community. I value AIR for what it has provided me. From participating in a Foundations Institute back when I first entered the field to serving on the AIR Board of Directors, my affiliation with AIR has enriched me professionally, and I am committed to advancing the mission of the organization. Finally, I love being an institutional researcher, and I want to see our profession thrive. Cultivating a thriving profession requires leadership in the association who will advocate for and advance the field of IR. The NEC, therefore, provides me with an opportunity to help shape the future leadership of the organization.

How would you go about ensuring the slate of candidates is diverse and inclusive?

Ensuring a diverse slate means that we have done due diligence in recruiting candidates for leadership roles. I would strive to represent interests outside of my own and actively elicit others’ opinions / interests through engagement in AIR communities as well as related communities of practice. For example, I would keep a pulse on the professionals served by AIR by regularly reading contributions to the AIR Hub, LinkedIn discussions, eAIR articles, and regional association resources, and I would actively seek out individuals to recruit for AIR participation and leadership. I also would continue my active involvement at the AIR Forum and engage with opportunities to develop new networks through Forum offerings including receptions, affiliated organization meetings, and the Board booth in the exhibit hall. Being open to members is critical so they know we are available for them to express interest in AIR leadership opportunities.

Once we have recruited candidates, I think it is important to have clear evaluation criteria that values diverse perspectives. Working across the NEC will require members to listen to understand, to challenge each other’s thinking, and to act in the best interest of the membership and organization. I believe my background and interpersonal skills, my experience in the profession, and my prior service on the Board of Directors will make me a good fit for the NEC.

What different perspectives or voices do you think should be represented on the Board/NEC? Why?

I believe that AIR currently attempts to ensure representation in various ways, including institutional type, geography, and certain individual characteristics. In addition to those items, I would also like to elevate perspectives of neurodiverse individuals, professionals with varying levels of experience, those with generational differences, and individuals from the international community of IR professionals. A well-rounded organization not only needs to reflect the array of individuals who comprise it, but also should celebrate the diversity of our profession. I wholeheartedly believe that including differing perspectives and expertise in decision making can lead to better outcomes.

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Sue Gerber

Title: Assistant Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness
Affiliation: William Paterson University
Organization Type: Public, 4-year or above

Relevant Experience

• Over 20 years of varied experience in higher education as both faculty and administration at various institutions (e.g., small regional public, research-intensive system flagship)
• A decade of experience in IE with leadership roles in accreditation, assessment, compliance, institutional research, and planning
• Chaired university-wide policy development and renewal committee
• Project-managed multiple large-scale initiatives for President’s Office that infused DEI elements

What do diversity, equity, and inclusion mean to you?

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) are fundamental to my role as an education professional. DEI is a process of lifelong learning, as attention to DEI requires actively examining how my perspective influences my actions, recognizing impacts, and seeking to improve. More broadly, DEI is core to the concept of education as a public good. Engaging in DEI work means recognizing and celebrating individual differences and embracing individual and collective accountability to ensure all members of an institution learn, grow, thrive, and achieve.

What has influenced your thinking around diversity, equity, and inclusion that motivated you to get involved in serving on NEC?

My thinking around DEI continues to evolve based on my professional and personal experiences. Those related to the role of IR/IE have prompted my interest in serving on the NEC. For one, the intensified focus on DEI by institutions has expanded recognition that data collection, analysis, and presentation are not neutral beyond those of us in IR/IE offices. IR professionals are playing a key role in helping their campuses work through what this means in practice.

Similarly, the growing calls for innovation in higher education emphasize the need for a truly student-centric approach to learning and credentialing. To be effective, these innovations must incorporate DEI considerations. IR functions around data analysis, assessment, planning, and accreditation will be crucial as institutions design, implement, and evaluate changes.

AIR’s continued advocacy and support for members in these areas will be imperative, and it would be a privilege to contribute to this as a member of the NEC.

How would you go about ensuring the slate of candidates is diverse and inclusive?

Certainly, recruitment efforts should build on the most effective existing practices of the NEC. At a broad level, ensuring targeted and varied outreach is key to recruiting potential candidates. A preliminary step would include determining the desired parameters for representation and using that to guide the nature of that outreach. For instance, if assessment experience is an area of desired representation, we can begin by looking to our members who have presented on assessment at previous AIR conferences, or have been particularly engaged on the listserv around assessment. Moving farther out, it may be fruitful to connect with national assessment organizations on ways to leverage their networks to identify potential candidates.

What different perspectives or voices do you think should be represented on the Board/NEC? Why?

When I vote for candidate, I consider individual and institutional characteristics – gender identity, race/ethnicity, position/role in the organization, institution control, institution level, institution size and setting, etc. Additional considerations could include factors that impact how IR/IE functions at an institution – size of the office, divisional home, and the like. Further, considering expertise across elements of IR/IE (assessment, accreditation, analytics, planning, etc) and/or seeking those with relevant experience across AIR focus areas (education and training, advocacy and policy, etc) could help to ensure AIR maintains a balanced focus on mission and vision.

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Ken Thompson

Title: Director of Institutional Research
Affiliation: University of Mississippi Medical Center
Institution Type: Public, 4-year or above

Relevant Experience

• Previously served as chief data officer and was responsible for data governance policies
• Served on leadership committees with governance responsibilities, such as the Provost’s academic council, the President’s cabinet, Information and Knowledge Management Committee, Potential Academic Change Committee, Academic Affairs Council, and SACSCOC Leadership Committee
• Served as a board member, vice-president, president, and past-president for the Mississippi Association of Institutional Research
• Worked closely with DEI initiatives as part of the Provost’s academic council and the President’s cabinet to promote DEI initiatives and to increase diversity in students, staff, faculty, and administration

What do diversity, equity, and inclusion mean to you?

In my involvement with diversity, equity, and inclusion, it seems the three are thought of as a single entity, with people generally referring to them collectively as “DEI,” which may convey the message that they are single entity. I fear that reducing the three to “DEI” runs the risk of turning a moral obligation into a fad that is in vogue until a new fad arrives. To see this, I think you need look no further than daily news headlines (some people seem to be opposed to DEI initiatives without a personal understanding of what they’re opposing). Consequently, I see them as three interrelated, but different, goals.

To me, diversity means everyone has representation at the table, equity means everyone’s voice at the table is heard equally, and inclusion means everyone’s voice is listened to equally.

Before we can achieve inclusion, we must achieve equity; but, before we can have equity, we must have diversity. This suggests a linear progression of diversity, then equity, and then inclusion. However, to have diversity, we must make sure everyone has a seat at the table, which brings everything back to inclusion. Consequently, it is not linear and there are differing levels within each, suggesting that that the push to achieve diversity, equity, and inclusion will be a never-ending process. There will always be a need to do better and to do more.

Once everyone’s voice is listened to equally, we can say we’re making meaningful progress towards achieving diversity, equity, and inclusion.

What has influenced your thinking around diversity, equity, and inclusion that motivated you to get involved in serving on NEC?

My thinking around diversity, equity, and inclusion was formed in the most basic way – having meaningful conversations with people who are not like me. It was a slow process, and it wasn’t always comfortable (nor is it always comfortable now). But, I was fortunate enough to have people who would talk to me – and with me – in an empathetic two-way dialogue. Those conversations began many years ago when I was very young and working in a restaurant in Meridian, MS, a location central to the events depicted in the movie Mississippi Burning (Google it if you’re not familiar). I was fortunate to work with and develop relationships with people who knew Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner. I learned so much from those people; probably more than I’ve learned at any other time in my life. I was extremely comfortable with them and felt comfortable asking questions that I probably wouldn’t ask anyone else. They patiently, and honestly, answered my questions and helped me see those events through their eyes. Although those experiences will never be my experiences, having those conversations at such a young age really changed my perspective on life, not just diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Since then, I have been sensitive to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and have supported DEI efforts in any way I can. Both personally and professionally, I have strived to use whatever influence my position may have to support diversity, equity, and inclusion. Serving on the NEC is just one more way to serve.

How would you go about ensuring the slate of candidates is diverse and inclusive?

I believe that ensuring a slate of diverse and inclusive candidates is best accomplished by not focusing on ensuring a slate of diverse and inclusive candidates. Focusing on creating a diverse and inclusive ballot is a short-term solution to get through one election that leaves the committee the same challenge of focusing on ensuring diverse and inclusive ballot next year. Instead, I believe that ensuring a diverse and inclusive ballot is best met by establishing it as an expectation rather than as a goal. That expectation is established by creating an environment where all members feel their voice counts and where all members know that we want to have their representation as a candidate. And, ultimately, we want to have their voices heard on the board. If, as an organization, we do a great job of making the organization – and by extension the board – a welcoming environment where we value all opinions, we will have a diverse slate of candidates. But, that diversity comes from creating an atmosphere where candidates want to serve because they know their voice and their opinion are valued and respected rather than from the committee focusing solely on creating a diverse list of candidates.

As a member of the Nominations and Elections Committee, my challenge is to be an ambassador to the membership to ensure that all members are aware that we want diverse representation where all voices are not only heard equally, but are also needed and essential for moving the organization forward.

What different perspectives or voices do you think should be represented on the Board/NEC? Why?

I believe it is important to have representation, to the extent possible, from all facets of the organization. Society is working towards having demographic representation, such as race and gender, but it is also important to have professional representation. I believe representation from public and private institutions is important. It is also important to have representation from small liberal arts colleges as well as large R1 institutions. One thing I’ve learned through serving multiple institutions is that, although we’re all focused on enhancing higher education, our individual institutions may look vastly different. Having worked at a small liberal arts college and now a medical center with an education, research, and healthcare mission, my understanding of the differences is growing.

When you haven’t walked in someone else’s shoes in a different environment, you don’t know what you don’t know; consequently, it is important to have all voices represented. While I in no way want to – or mean to – minimize the importance of demographic diversity, equity, and inclusion, I think it is also important to consider the diversity of the membership professionally. If we want to serve all IR/IE professionals, we need to represent all IR/IE professionals. I cannot think of a single instance where I haven’t learned from my IR/IE colleagues. I believe that we all benefit from having the representation of those colleagues in leadership positions.

 

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Henry Zheng

Title: Vice Provost for Institutional Effectiveness and Planning
Affiliation: Carnegie Mellon University
Organization Type: Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above

Relevant Experience

• Currently serves as Carnegie Mellon's inaugural leader in institutional effectiveness and planning. Provides strategic guidance for planning, evaluation, data analysis and research methodologies that support key initiatives across the university. In close collaboration with the university’s Chief Diversity Officer, gathered stakeholder inputs to develop the university’s campus climate survey and diversity dashboard.
• Prior to joining Carnegie Mellon, served as an Associate Vice President for Strategic Analytics at The Ohio State University. Provided leadership to institutional research and planning, competitive intelligence, and strategic analytics operations.
• Previously worked as Vice Provost for Institutional Research and Strategic Analytics at Lehigh University. Collaborated with his team and faculty leaders to implement the University’s Campus Climate Surveys across faculty, staff, and student populations and developed comprehensive reports to assist university decision-making.
• Served as co-editor and main contributor to a Johns Hopkins University Press book, "Big Data on Campus: Data Analytics and Decision Making in Higher Education."
• Serves as a long-time volunteer and in various elected positions in the Association for Institutional Research, Northeast Association for Institutional Research, and the Overseas Chinese Association for Institutional Research.

What do diversity, equity, and inclusion mean to you?

To me, diversity means that we respect, recognize, and celebrate the differences regarding various characteristics that make all of us unique, such as our race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, and other aspects of our identity. We embrace diversity because our differences contribute to the richness and vibrance of our organizations and the society in general.

Equity refers to the fairness and consideration that should be provided to all individuals, regardless of their background. Compared to the concept of equality, equity not only means that everyone should be afforded access to the same opportunities and resources, but also that any barriers to equality should be removed.

Inclusion means that we are taking the ideas of diversity and equity one step further by actively creating the environments and conditions that are welcoming and supportive of all individuals to fully participate and involve in the community. Inclusion means that we help foster a sense of belonging and respect for all members of the community.

What has influenced your thinking around diversity, equity, and inclusion that motivated you to get involved in serving on NEC?

As a first-generation immigrant to the United States, I arrived in this great country in the mid-1980s. At that time, the dominant concept of cultural inclusiveness is the “melting pot” metaphor. The melting pot concept describes the way that different cultures and groups coming together to form a cohesive society. The melting pot concept implies that different cultures and groups are expected to assimilate and adopt the dominant culture's norms, traditions, and values. This can lead to a loss of cultural identity and might be unfavorable to minority groups. Over the years, I am very encouraged by the gradual shifts in both the principles and practices from the melting pot idea to that of the diversity, equity, and inclusion paradigm today.

To me, our society in general and our organizations in specific need to have shared core values, aspirations, and future visions to foster a sense of cohesiveness and community spirits to stay strong and continue to grow. However, such cohesiveness in vision, core value and aspirations should not come at the price of minimizing individual differences that are so vital and valuable to diversity, inclusion, and the sense of belonging. In fact, strong organizations with common mission and shared values will benefit greatly from diverse voices and representations.

For me, an opportunity to serve on NEC means that I need to be very intentional in understanding and supporting AIR’s core values, mission, and vision while ensure that these core organizational assets and principles continue to evolve to reflect not only the changes in the higher education environments but also the growing diverse perspectives from our members. There is no better way to sustain our organization’s vibrance and agility than to nominate and elect officers and leaders who reflect the diversity of our membership. As an organization, we need to ensure that our leaders practice what they preach to create an equitable and inclusive environment and remove any barriers for membership participation in organizational governance.

How would you go about ensuring the slate of candidates is diverse and inclusive?

If elected, as an NEC member, I would do the following to ensure that we have a slate of candidates to enhance diversity and inclusion among our elected officers. First, build relations and educate myself: Expand my outreach to members from all backgrounds and learn about their experiences and interests in serving the AIR organization; actively seek out diverse perspectives and voices.

Second, be an advocate and an ally: If I see anyone from a diverse background who is interested in serving, I will make sure that this person has all the right information and is encouraged to explore an elected leadership opportunity. If I see or hear someone being marginalized against or treated unfairly in the nomination and election process, speak up and stand up for them.

Third, be mindful of my own biases: We all have biases and blind spots, whether we realize it or not. I will do my best to check my own biases. This will include honest self-assessments and reflection as well as seeking feedback from others to become more aware of such biases.

Fourth, be supportive and encouraging. I will encourage my fellow NEC members to be supportive of our diversity and inclusion objectives and work collectively together to ensure diverse representation in our elected leadership.

What different perspectives or voices do you think should be represented on the Board/NEC? Why?

There are at least four different ways that I can think of supporting diverse perspective and voices at the Board and NEC. Individual perspectives: Ensure that our elected officers are broadly represented by their personal characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, and other aspects of our identity.

Organizational perspective: Ensure that our elected officers represent a wide spectrum of higher education and affiliated institutions with different characteristics such as mission, focus, sector, degree granting status, and level and mode of instruction.

Geographical and regional perspectives: Ensure that our elected officers reflect the rich diversity of our great country as well as our connections to the rest of the world. This can include representation from different states, geographical regions, US and international affiliates.

Financial perspectives: Work to support our members to compete for and serve as our elected officers regardless their institution’s financial status. This means that candidates from financially challenged institutions should be encouraged to participate in the nomination and election process. That means that as an organization, we need to make the efforts to lower their financial barriers of serving the AIR organization.

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