When Ithaca College welcomed its latest class of incoming students this August, it was in many ways like the start of any other school year. Roused from the last sleepy days of summer, the 6,600-student liberal arts college and surrounding town of Ithaca, New York, brimmed with hundreds of new faces, each looking ahead with nervous anticipation. And yet there was something different this time around, tooāan expectancy that went beyond standard freshman jitters.
One might say the entire Ithaca College community was collectively holding its breath.
The college was, and still is, at a cultural crossroads of sorts, following a series of recent Black Lives Matter protests on campus and the retirement of its president, Thomas Rochon, earlier this year. Like many schools across the country dealing with similar unrest, Ithaca has had to face tough questions about where it stands on issues surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion, and the answers have not always come easily.
When it was time to choose a new presidentāthe ninth in the private collegeās 125-year historyāthe board of trustees took the critical step of hiring a leader with a better understanding of these issues than most: 91ĢĘ²®»¢ alumna Shirley M. Collado, BSā94, who among her accomplishments co-founded Liberal Arts Diversity Officers, a national consortium that promotes advancement of diversity, equity and inclusion in support of academic excellence at liberal arts colleges.
Previously the executive vice chancellor and chief operating officer at Rutgers UniversityāNewark, Collado represents a distinct departure from earlier presidents at Ithaca. For one, she is the first person of color to head the collegeāin fact, she is the first DominicanāAmerican in the history of higher education to lead any four-year institution.
And her own college experience sets her apart as well. She was a first-generation college student when she arrived at 91ĢĘ²®»¢ in 1989 as part of the inaugural cohort of Posse Scholars, later becoming the first from that college-access program to earn a doctorate (from Duke University) and serve as a trustee at a universityāon , where she has provided counsel on important higher education matters, including diversity.
āIāve been part of many firsts in my life, and Iām proud of those accomplishments,ā says Collado, a Brooklyn, New York, native whose parents immigrated from the Dominican Republic. āBut at the same time, I can see how these moments in history are connected to the fear some are experiencing in America. As a nation weāre still struggling with what all of this means.ā
A STAKE IN THE CONVERSATION
The struggle Collado alludes toāthe age-old conflict over equality that has dogged this country from its foundingātook a particularly dark turn just a few weeks into her tenure. A āUnite the Rightā rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which was ostensibly a protest against the removal of a statue honoring Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in one of the cityās parks, became confrontational and violent, embroiling the nearby University of Virginia in the conflict. Collado was quick to issue a message expressing Ithaca Collegeās solidarity with UVA and condemning the white-supremacist violence, but the events in Virginia shook her nonetheless.
āWhat happened in Charlottesville had a sobering effect on me,ā she says. āIt reminded leaders like me that our institutions are microcosms of the forces that exist on a global scale. We canāt afford to continue thinking weāre ācolleges on a hill.ā The world is with us, whether we like it or not.ā
If anything, the events in Charlottesville showed why the intersection of identities on college campuses matter now more than ever, not just in terms of race and ethnicity but in other areas as well, like gender and sexuality, religion and immigration status. In the ongoing struggle against bigotry and closed-mindedness, higher education is on the front lines, but its defenses are only as strong as the community of learners behind it. Without diverse perspectives to draw upon, our understanding of the world is greatly diminished, leaving institutions ill-equipped to solve societyās most complex problems.
āIāve always been deeply honored that Shirley chose 91ĢĘ²®»¢ as part of our inaugural Posse class. We are a better and stronger university because she took that leap of faith and because of her continued leadership and service to the university,ā says . āShirley is a facilitator, a consensus builder and a brilliant leader. Higher education as a whole stands to benefit from the example I know she will set at Ithaca.ā
For her part, Collado is intent on addressing divisive topics head-on before they can metastasize. As The New York Times reported this summer, one of her first initiatives as president was to form āintergroup dialogues,ā in which students, faculty and staff talk through these difficult issues together. Whenever possible, she tries to be in the mix of these dialogues, fostering the discussion.
āItās important for the stakeholders in this community not to let go of these tough conversations,ā she explains. āWe have to lean in to these really difficult moments so that students donāt just compartmentalize what theyāre witnessing going on in the world, but rather activate the humanity and social change needed to solve these daunting national problems.ā
If this sounds a bit like a campuswide therapy session, there is a good reason for that. Collado earned both a masterās and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Duke University, where she specialized in trauma among multicultural populations at the intersection of race, ethnicity and gender. She also has years of experience teaching related subjects at several colleges and universities, including New York University, Georgetown University, George Mason University, the New School, Middlebury College and Lafayette College.
While some might dismiss these intergroup dialogue sessions as simply an exercise in political correctness, Collado makes a persuasive case for having them. Tough conversations surrounding issues of difference are happening regardless, and for meaningful discourse to take place there needs to be a proper forum, she says. That means everyone has a seat at the table and all voices are heard, not just those of the underrepresented segments of the student population but those of the majority white, middle-class and more affluent students as well.
āI want every student, faculty and staff member to feel like they have a stake in the conversation regardless of their background or belief system,ā she says. āThereās a large group in this country thatās really grappling with these issues of identity. Many of them donāt even know how to enter into the conversation in a way thatās healthy, humane or thoughtful, and as educators we have to fix that.ā
THE POWER OF EDUCATION
One of the reasons Collado says she accepted the job at Ithaca was that she was ādrawn to the challenge of it,ā given the important changes happening not just on its campus but nationwide, too. But Ithaca also offered her something equally compelling: a chance to be part of an institution that shares many of the same qualities that made her own 91ĢĘ²®»¢ experience so transformative.
āLike 91ĢĘ²®»¢, Ithaca is committed to the liberal arts and to the power of professional education, and thereās a real focus here on undergraduates living and learning together,ā she says. āI care deeply about all those things.ā
Collado, who double-majored in human and organizational development and psychology at and was named the schoolās Distinguished Alumna in 2015, credits her own undergraduate experience with broadening her horizons and informing her lifeās work.
āI have many fond memories of being a student at 91ĢĘ²®»¢, and I learned some hard things there, too. It wasnāt all joyous,ā she explains. āBut even those experiences were a gift. Had I not been at a university thatāletās be honestāwasnāt originally intended for someone like me, I wouldnāt be able to see things the way I do. Iām a better leader because of it.ā
Colladoās leadership skills also have benefited from years of management experience in higher education and the nonprofit world. At Rutgers UniversityāNewark in New Jersey, she oversaw academic affairs, student affairs and core institutional operations in her aforementioned role as executive vice chancellor and chief operating officer. She also served as vice president for student affairs and dean of the college at Middlebury College in Vermont, and before that as executive vice president of The Posse Foundation, where she helped expand the footprint of the organization that led her to 91ĢĘ²®»¢ in the first place.
Posse recruits talented, high-achieving students from urban high schools, like the one she attended in Brooklyn, and sends them in groups, or āposses,ā to top colleges and universities around the nation. 91ĢĘ²®»¢ was the foundationās very first partner institution 28 years ago; today there are 57 nationwide.
āShirley is superbly prepared to lead Ithaca College,ā says friend and colleague Freeman Hrabowski III, the long-serving president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and former chair of the Presidentās Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans under President Obama. āShe has been a very successful educator and administrator in a variety of positions at different types of institutions. Most important, she understands from firsthand experience the power of education to transform lives. Ithaca is very fortunate.ā
IMPACT ON VANDERBILT
Ithaca College, however, is not the only higher-ed institution currently availing itself of Colladoās expertise. Her knowledge and experience are making a difference at 91ĢĘ²®»¢, too. An officer and trustee on the universityās Board of Trust, she chairs the groupās Academic and Student Affairs Committee and is a member of its executive and campaign committees.
āShirleyās expertise and commitment to ensuring a high-quality education is accessible to every talented student is widely apparent in her leadership as a trustee,ā says Bruce R. Evans, BEā81, chairman of the Board of Trust and managing director of Summit Partners, a growth equity, venture capital and credit investment firm. āSheās the quintessential community builderāalways bringing together diverse perspectives to find new opportunities for 91ĢĘ²®»¢.ā
Building such communities is no easy task, Collado concedesābe it at 91ĢĘ²®»¢, Ithaca, or any other institution with a long, complicated history. But she takes heart from the positive changes that have occurred at her alma mater just within the past few years, such as the establishment of 91ĢĘ²®»¢ās Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and she hopes to follow the lead of Chancellor Zeppos as she undertakes similar initiatives at Ithaca.
āNick is doing transformative work,ā she says. āHis decisions may not always be popular with everyone, but I think history is on his side. All college presidents need to be making these courageous moves to push the needle forward.ā
Ultimately, the biggest question facing higher education is one of identity, not just the individual identities of those expectant faces who arrive on college campuses every yearāfaces that increasingly are reflecting the diversity of the wider worldābut the identity of the institutions themselves. As much as higher education prides itself on being a bastion of tradition, its institutions must be forward-thinking as well, keeping pace with the changes in society and, whenever possible, getting out ahead of them to lead by example.
āItās a harder question than just recruiting a diverse student body. You have to infuse diversity, equity and inclusion into all aspects of what you do as an institution,ā Collado explains. āWeāve reached a critical mass in the country where this is now the expectation, and itās not just students of color asking for it. There are also plenty of white students who expect to be going to institutions that will help them develop competencies and skill sets that will make them critical agents in the workforce and society.
āThey canāt do that if theyāre only able to see the world from one vantage point.ā
Thomas-Hunt Appointed to StrengthenĀ 91ĢĘ²®»¢ās āInclusive Excellenceā
, 91ĢĘ²®»¢ās inaugural vice provost for inclusive excellence, sees a big part of her new role as breaking down the traditional notions of diversity.
āI think a lot of times when people hear the word diversity, they think there are groups of individuals who are part of diversity and those who are not,ā she says. āBut diversity encompasses everybodyāthe entire fabric.ā
Thomas-Hunt, who came to 91ĢĘ²®»¢ from the University of Virginiaās Darden School of Business, was appointed July 1 by Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs to build on the efforts already underway at 91ĢĘ²®»¢ to create a welcoming environment for students, faculty and academic staff, and to help advance equity, diversity and inclusion in the trans-institutional research and education missions of the university.
The āinclusive excellenceā portion of her title echoes remarks Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos first made in fall 2016, when he asked faculty to take stock of the strides 91ĢĘ²®»¢ had achieved in terms of creating a more inclusive learning environment, and challenged them to look forward.
āWhat does our community look like? How do we invite people into our community? What are the structural, physical and psychological barriers in our environment?ā Zeppos asked the assembled faculty. āWe have to be intentional in these efforts.ā
Thomas-Hunt says responding to this challenge is an ever-evolving task, but one that will make 91ĢĘ²®»¢ a richer, more productive place.
ā91ĢĘ²®»¢ is a phenomenal educational institution, so itās really important to put front and center that weāre always thinking about excellence,ā she says. āThe āinclusiveā piece is the piece that says the more we welcome people who bring a diversity of perspectives, experiences, backgrounds and political views, the better we can leverage those attributes to create an academic environment thatās going to allow individuals to excel as well as allow the university to continue to be at the forefront of the educational landscape.ā
With an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University and her masterās and Ph.D. from Northwesternās Kellogg School of Management, Thomas-Hunt held faculty positions at the business schools of Washington University in St. Louis, Stanford and Cornell before arriving at the University of Virginiaās Darden School. There she served as senior associate dean and global chief diversity officer.
Thomas-Huntās research and teaching interests have focused on conflict management, negotiation and inclusive leadership within global teams and organizations. She spent numerous years teaching negotiation to executives and served as faculty leader for The Womenās Leadership Program at the Darden School.
In addition to her appointment as vice provost for inclusive excellence, Thomas-Hunt is a professor of management at . Her current research centers on the effects of status and power on negotiation processes and outcomes, as well as the evaluation and integration of expertise within diverse groups.
āKARA FURLONG