Amanda Shaffer is currently serving as Interim Faculty Diversity Officer. The following interview discusses her duties as the Manager of Faculty Diversity and Development.
Amanda Shaffer is Case Western Reserve University's Manager of Faculty Diversity and Development, but what exactly does that title mean? How has her presence impacted diversity at the university? I asked her about the role she and all of us have to play in the campus's climate.
What is a Manager of Faculty Diversity and Development and how long have you been it?
As Manager of Faculty Diversity and Development I work with faculty search committees, department chairs and deans to increase the diversity of the candidate pools and eliminate subtle bias from the process. I provide resources, information, suggestions and so on, customized to the needs of each search. Not many departments search every year, so it can be stressful to navigate the government regulations and the university guidelines amidst your regular workload and still perform due diligence. I facilitate the process for those committees that use my services and provide help navigating and thinking about how to create the widest net possible to ensure the best candidates are applying to Case.
I inaugurated this position in 2005 under the NSF-ADVANCE grant ACES. One of the goals of the grant was to increase the number of women faculty in Science and Engineering at Case by 20% over the life of the grant. The PIís knew that they needed a dedicated position to help reach that goal, and the position of faculty diversity specialist was created under the grant. It has been a tremendous opportunity to bring new policies, procedures and best practices to the campus.
The position was made permenant in 2005 and eventually included the promotion to Manager of Faculty Diversity and Development. There are not many Faculty Diversity Specialist kind of positions at other universities. The duties I perform are often done on a volunteer basis by faculty or staff that are committed to increasing the diversity of the candidate pools. A goal of mine is to have a nationwide symposium to discuss formalizing the title and job description for all universities. There are a variety of positions that do parts of what I do but variations in titles can keep folks from being able to share best practices and develop the field.
How did you first become interested in diversity issues?
I have always been interested in equity and positive organizational change, so the mission of the ACES grant ìTo promote a campus-wide culture of equity, participation, openness and transparencyî speaks to my core ideals. I was pitching ethics modules to be used with the new SAGES program and a serendipitous meeting with Beth McGee, the Faculty Diversity Officer, led me to apply for the position. At the time I was a Consultant on Research Ethics with the Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Science, which was a grant funded program based in the Philosophy department here at Case.
How did your background lead you to taking your current position?
Well I am by training and volition a teacher; as such, I view each interaction with others as an opportunity for learning ñ for others and myself. I like a challenge and I was attracted to the possibilities to be found in creating a position. My background is eclectic. I have a Masters Degree in Philosophy with a concentration in Ancient Greek philosophy and Feminist Epistemology and I was a theatre artist for many years working as an actor and director in Cleveland. I was producing director at Cleveland Public Theatre for a number of years, and founded Red Hen Productions, Clevelandís Feminist Theatre. I taught theatre to gang populations and youth in the projects, and traveled the United States with my one-woman show, all of which I believe helped forge my ability to be confident, optimistic, and stay in the moment. Working with such a range of humanity, whether in college classrooms or in an asphalt parking lot, one develops an appreciation and respect for the wealth of diversity we have in our country.
What are your responsibilities of the Manager of Faculty Diversity and Development, and how does this differ from the responsibilities of the faculty diversity officer?
The Faculty Diversity Officer serves as a facilitator for addressing faculty diversity issues, particularly relating to faculty affirmative action and equal opportunity, and handles formal/informal sexual harassment complaints/investigations, as well as ADA accommodations. The Officer reports directly to the President of the University and provides data and policy recommendations, as well as serving as a faculty diversity advocate in university committees. The activities of the Faculty Diversity Officer are reported to the Faculty Senate and the Board of Trustees annually.
My responsibilities differ greatly. As Manager of Faculty Diversity and Development I provide search committee training, cultural competency training, meeting facilitation and support for faculty climate change activities. I also lead facilitated conversations about racism, sexism, departmental climate change, communication and meeting skills, among other things.
How have you adapted to the position? What have you learned since assuming it?
Interesting question. One thing I have learned is patience! Making change at a University is a slow but steady process. I make decisions quickly and rarely ìre-thinkî an issue that was logically and reasonably decided, so revisiting decisions and soliciting additional feedback, and then analyzing and discussing the feedback took some getting used to. I have come to appreciate the positive side of this manner of working which is that you are assured that all the participants, while they may not agree with the final decisions, have at least had a chance to impact the decision.
What changes have you seen in the university climate through your work?
I think the presence of ACES and the overwhelming commitment of a true change agent like Deputy Provost Lynn Singer has invigorated the Case community. Dr. Singer, through personal dedication and institutional memory, has provided the steadiness necessary to initiate change and inspire others. From the beginning of the grant in 2004 to now, in 2007, I have seen faculty increasingly willing to take chances and advocate for themselves and what they believe in. Men and women are working together to create a campus climate that facilitates the growth of our talented junior faculty. I am proud to be associated with the NSF-ADVANCE grant and, in addition to Deputy Provost Lynn Singer, I am grateful to Drs. Mary Barkley, Donald Feke, Diana Bilimoria, and Hunter Peckham for their support and encouragement of the activities I initiate. Two of my favorites quotes, both by Margaret Mead, speak volumes about what is going on here at Case. ìNever doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the worldî and ìEvery time we liberate a woman, we liberate a man.î That must have been what the NSF had in mind when they created the ADVANCE program.
How has your work helped facilitate these changes?
I think that education about how to conduct an equitable search lays the foundation for behavior change. Faculty are intellectually curious, so new information contributes in untold ways to their thinking. I am seeing a new consciousness emerging from departments that I have had repeated interactions with and that is very gratifying.
I also contribute to climate change activity by providing data about attrition and faculty satisfaction, and initiating activities or dissemination mechanism wherever I see a gap. For instance, I developed a Faculty Work/Life Balance Brochure to share information that new faculty might not even think to ask about, and I designed a new faculty cultural competency training to familiarize new faculty with Case demographics, policies and resources so that they can contribute to a positive campus climate. I am also a resource for new faculty for relocation, schools, partner/spouse job opportunities in Cleveland, day care information ñ all the things that help a new faculty member feel part of a community and get settled. A pre-tenure faculty member may not want to ask his department chair about pre-schools or where to rent a house. There are a complex range of small problems and questions that can make life difficult, and I try to offer help if I can. I recently had someone ask me to recommend a tailor. There are many small actions that help make Case a more welcoming place.
These days, people tend to focus on our progress from the past and the supposed equality of the present. How do you combat that mindset to show that there is still work to be done?
I always find it curious that people want to check a box and say, ìwe are done with that nowî, as if passing a law is all it takes to create an equitable and fair society. If accomplishment stymied all progress we would never have advanced beyond the wheel. So I say there is still much to do, we can always be better.
Many of the behaviors our society hoped to change with laws like the Equal Pay Act or affirmative action have spawned more subtle forms of prejudice as it became more and more acceptable to make political correctness a pejorative. Political correctness means correcting for a societal imbalance, like the increasing gender balance in symphony orchestras when they adopted blind auditions during the 1970ís and 1980ís. Those blind auditions led to an increase of 30 ñ 55% in the number of female hires from 1970 to1996. This was a study conducted by Cecilia Rouse of Princeton if anyone would care to read it. The point is that as people evolve and change, so do their biases. Racism, classism, and sexism do not go away, they change. Our job is to realize that we are responsible for not becoming complacent.
What are your short-term and long-term goals as faculty diversity specialist and for the university?
In the short-term I hope to be so busy next year that I have to turn down meetings with search committees across campus!
I canít speak for the university - you might follow up with President Snyder for that answer - but one of my short-term goals is to increase my work with the Grassroots Climate Change Committee (GrCCC) to educate faculty about the problems and potential solutions for improving our campus community. Again, the work of the GrCCC is voluntary and does not get the members gold stars on their CV to help with promotion or advancement, so I do my best to support and facilitate their activities. I would like to be doing more work in departments rather than school-wide, to really get on the ground, so to speak.
Two long-term goals would be to organize a symposium as I mentioned before, to standardize faculty diversity efforts and better disseminate best practices in the field. Also, to create a Faculty Development and Diversity Office to serve as ìOne-Stop Shoppingî for all faculty needs. We have tremendous resources for faculty already without a simple mechanism for communicating their availability or soliciting ideas about additional needs or wants.
What other work needs to be done to transform Case?
I would really like to see an Ombudsman at Case. I was trained to be an Ombudsperson and I found there is a lot of confusion at Case about what an Ombudsman is, and that needs to be cleared up. People sometimes assume they are advocates or that the Ombuds somehow undermines other positions but that is just not the case. An Ombudsman provides an independent, neutral, impartial, and confidential environment, outside of formal channels, for guidance and information to faculty and staff who have concerns about conflicts, disputes, discrimination or harassment within the university community. An Ombudsperson is not part of the university administration, doesnít advocate for policy or do investigations, which is the responsibility of the Faculty Diversity Officer. Sometimes people have a real need to go completely outside of channels to get information about how to proceed with their problem. An Ombudsperson would be a resource to allow faculty and staff to decide what to do without an official record in HR or the Faculty Diversity Office or some other administration office. Understanding all the options before you begin might be all it takes to help a person decide how to resolve a disputes.
What is next for you?
I hope to expand Faculty Diversity activities University-wide and forge new partnerships in the professional schools, which has not happened yet. There is always more to do! Hope you are off to be a journalist because this was great interview Casey. Thanks.
What is a Manager of Faculty Diversity and Development and how long have you been it?