Answering the Call

Agnes Scott Charts The Way Forward for Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

By Jennifer Jiles

2020 unveiled an unprecedented state of social unrest across the globe that forced a national dialogue on race and injustice. What was revealed are the lingering conflicts and issues of racism and intolerance that have been part of the country for centuries. Amid these issues, college campuses revamped efforts reflecting on their diversity programs and how to chart the way forward.

How can one academic institution ensure it makes a sustainable impact on social justice, equity, diversity and inclusion that endures beyond this particular moment in U.S. history? Can a college that is recognized for having one of the most diverse student bodies in the country still have work to do around its DEI initiatives? The short answer is yes. However, though Agnes Scott College has long demonstrated a commitment to diversity, its faculty, staff, students and alums are engaged in a goal-driven effort to become the role model of an inclusive community that society can aspire to replicate. The centerpiece of that effort is the college’s Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Plan, which Agnes Scott began creating in June 2020, at the height of last summer’s national protests for racial equality.

“One could say the impetus came from within. It is who we are,” says Yves-Rose Porcena, vice president for equity and inclusion.

The plan is a continuum of diversity efforts already underway at the college and is inclusive of all members of the Agnes Scott community, including but not limited to individuals and groups based upon race, color, country of origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability and veteran status. In July 2019, President Leocadia I. Zak hired Porcena as Agnes Scott’s inaugural vice president for equity and inclusion, signaling the high priority the college was placing on DEI initiatives. Five months later, the Association of American Colleges & Universities selected Agnes Scott as one of 24 universities to host Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation Campus Centers. In 2021, Agnes Scott’s Board of Trustees adopted a statement of diversity and anti-racism affirming its commitment to combating racism. Each year, the plan will have a thematic focus, and this year it is anti-racism.

The added layer of justice was authored into the college’s Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Plan to position the framework of it as a responsibility of one’s own behavior. Justice requires individuals, not only as members of the Agnes Scott community but also as members of society, to examine their beliefs and behaviors. Justice, equity, diversity and inclusion at the college shows up as justice in our behaviors, equity in policies and practices, diversity of constituents and inclusion through voices.

As an alum and a Gay Johnson McDougall Center for Global Diversity and Inclusion faculty fellow, Amy Lovell ’90 can recall times at the college when diversity only echoed sentiments of tolerance. Students of color were welcomed onto the campus, but the primarily white culture of the college intruded on their campus experience.

For both students of color and LGBTQ students, the campus culture was one where diversity was allowed only because those in positions of privilege and power allowed it, not because everyone rightfully belonged.

“When I was a student in the 1980s, Agnes Scott was an integrated college in the sense that it was not a white-only institution,” says Lovell, who is also a professor of astronomy at Agnes Scott. “Maybe we started with diversity and then there was conceptual inclusion. However, it was more like ‘It is OK for diverse groups of people to be here,’ but individuals said, ‘I am not going to change my ways.’ I would like the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Plan to help us move more toward belonging; inclusion suggests that ‘This is mine, but I [will] let you use it too,’ but belonging says ‘We all should be here.’”

“I was a student at Agnes Scott twice since 1999; first as an undergraduate and more recently as a graduate student. Those years and being a staff member for more than 10 years have given me great perspective on justice, equity, diversity and inclusion challenges and progress on campus,” adds Phoenicia Battle ’03x, MA’20, assistant director of communications and operations in the Office of Internship and Career Development. “I have watched the demographics of our students, faculty and staff boldly shift toward the vision of a diverse and inclusive campus. That growth, like with anything, tends to cause friction or discomfort for some. Witnessing the resulting rifts from those waves of change seems to have inspired the campus community to strive for solutions like the plan.”

The first step in progressing toward a culture of inclusion was admitting to the mistakes of the past and making space for everyone at the table. Agnes Scott understood that advancing the plan to really achieve sustainable change might spark some uncomfortable conversations and force individuals to assess their own contributions to combating social injustice. But even more so, the college understood that answering the call to create a just and equitable community for all was nonnegotiable.

Working on the plan brought accountability and forced many hidden conversations from the shadows as it created a space for them to exist without superior critique.

“A lot of the things that faculty, staff and students probably talk about privately or talk about within their classes or within their departments are now being addressed in writing, so there is an increased level of accountability,” says Machamma Quinichett, a staff fellow in the Gay Johnson McDougall Center for Global Diversity and Inclusion, and who is also the director of SUMMIT Advisors and associate director of the Office of Academic Advising and Accessible Education. “The college is saying, ‘The Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Plan states these are initiatives we plan to implement, and this is the community we want to have.’ The plan holds us all accountable for doing our part to dismantle systemic racism.”

Leading Agnes Scott to a Lasting Impact on Social Justice

The college did not want to be one of the many organizations that ramp up work on diversity following the renewed attention to issues of diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice, and then just stop. Agnes Scott strengthened its efforts so that they would reverberate across the entire campus and out into the community by zeroing in on five key areas that compose the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Plan:

•Advancing a Culture of Anti-Racism •Inspiring and Supporting Our Students •Developing and Caring for Our Employees •Driving Inclusive Excellence Through Training, Education and Research •Impacting Communities

“The plan affirms the college’s recognition that racial equity did not move quite right years ago,” says Rafael Ocasio, Charles A. Dana Professor of Spanish and a faculty fellow in the Gay Johnson McDougall Center for Global Diversity and Inclusion. “Simply put, we moved very slowly within the time frame of the civil rights movement. I will say that it is groundbreaking for the college to publicly express this level of commitment to diversity and social justice.”

Upon the unveiling of the plan this spring, the Agnes Scott community was encouraged to commit to a 21-step action plan that challenged members to take responsibility for their own behaviors, ultimately advancing a deeper understanding of the intersection of race, power, privilege, supremacy and oppression. The shift in the investigative focus of social justice revealed that the college was not in search of who but rather what. What processes or systems were in place to continue to allow for inequities to exist? What was it about the structure of the college, classes and pedagogy? Some of the key milestones for the plan include:

• Ensuring a $15 minimum earning wage for every employee •Continual engagement in justice, equity, diversity and inclusion training •Partnerships with student organizations to raise awareness •Restructuring the Office of Human Resources into the Office of People and Culture to strengthen the role of employees as institutional history- and culture-makers and ensure that members of the department have the knowledge, skills and competencies to support the diverse constituents of Agnes Scott

Elevating the Student Voice

For the college, it has been imperative to have Agnes Scott students be heard and be involved in the conversations around justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.

“Our students have always been advocates for social change and justice. Our students’ voices matter, and so much of this plan elevates the student voice,” says Lucero “Lucy” Rodriguez, director of diversity education. “We would not be able to do the work we do every day without student input and buy-in. We need them every step of the way in order to create systemic change and support underserved and underrepresented students.”

As such, student leaders on campus are supporting the college’s efforts to foster an inclusive culture and playing a role in ensuring that student concerns are addressed, which include increased faculty diversity, incorporating more diversity into the curriculum and mandatory diversity training for faculty and staff. As advocates and ambassadors, these student leaders are also deeply and personally invested in the different ways they are contributing to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion and inspiring other students to be a part of the work being done at Agnes Scott.

Damaris Billups ’23, a member of the executive board of ASCEND, the LGBTQIA+ student organization, finds the values of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion are ingrained in her everyday life. She says the impetus for her work was encountering spaces that lacked inclusion and a feeling of belonging, and she does not want any other individual from a marginalized group to feel that level of isolation.

“Agnes Scott has done a great job including the student voice in the conversation,” says Billups. “I have a voice here, and it is not exclusively my own. I have a voice to speak to a cause for all the people I represent. Inclusion is notable here and helps me take on the sense of belonging.”

Chan Spaulding ’22, chair of the Coalition of Student Multicultural Organizations (COSMO), has centered her work on closing gaps in communication in efforts to create space for student concerns to be heard by administration. COSMO chairs the Presidential Student Advisory Council on diversity panels, which organizes regular meetings with President Leocadia I. Zak and members of the student body.

Spaulding notes students can support the college’s justice, equity, diversity and inclusion efforts by serving as a constant checkpoint and offering feedback. She goes on to say, “We have to incorporate what we need in Agnes Scott life. This is why it is critical that our voices be heard. The population of students of color is increasing here at Agnes Scott; it is important for future students of color to come and feel that they have a voice.”

This academic year, students of color make up 63.2% of Agnes Scott’s student body.

Ché Carter ’21, president of Witkaze, the Black student organization, agrees with Spaulding, stating that even though students share concerns about issues of racism and injustice among one another, she encourages them to show up in the different spaces the college offers and speak up to the issues.

“We’re talking among ourselves about what we want to see and what we want the campus to have, but we’re not talking to the people who are making those plans or are in those rooms,” she says. “The student body should use [its] voice in a directed and impactful way.”

In collaboration with the Gay Johnson McDougall Center for Global Diversity and Inclusion, Jasmine Paul ’21, president of the Student Government Association, has worked with other SGA members to author several bills and resolutions designed to create a culture of belonging for all students. Paul calls the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Plan a “great start” in the right direction for the college and its campus climate. After SGA learned that many students of color felt marginalized by coursework curricula and syllabi, its most recent resolutions seek to decolonize the curriculum to make it more inclusive.

Leah Trotman ’21, class president, and Catherine Morkel ’21, class vice president, were integral in drafting the SGA resolutions on decolonizing the curriculum.

“They were drafted on the premise that oftentimes in classes, we are not hearing from Black, brown, minority or disadvantaged voices. So, how could we figure out a way to get faculty to encourage those voices to ensure that their living experiences were being seen, heard and valued? The process began at an hourlong call-in in 2020 after the unjust killings. There was lots of talking, but the [question] was ‘What are action steps that we can take to move forward?’” explains Trotman.

Morkel adds that it was key for SGA to work with faculty in conjunction with the resolution so that the efforts will be impactful and continue on.

Both Trotman, who has been championing mandating diversity workshops and training for faculty and staff, and Morkel, who is an Impact Peer Leader focused on accessibility issues for those with disabilities, say the college listens to student voices, but listening is only one component in effecting real change.

“In order to truly see the college’s Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Plan survive as a living document, faculty and students must commit to collaboration and ensuring that execution of the plan is a continuing process.”

Advancing Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Social justice through participation, engagement and collaboration is key to sustaining justice, equity, diversity and inclusion at Agnes Scott. The plan is poised to be a proactive initiative and ongoing rather than reactively seeking to uncover and undo patterns of injustice that have resulted in today’s climate of a reckoning on race. This is why the plan was designed to evolve and will be updated continually to ensure that the inevitable change of faculty, staff and students will not impede progress toward the plan’s goals.

“Justice, equity, diversity and inclusion is not a destination — it’s a journey,” says Porcena.

See these resources for information:

Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Plan: agnesscott.edu/diversity-and-inclusion/ global-diversity-and-inclusion-plan.html

Board of Trustees Official Statement Reaffirming Commitment to Diversity and Anti-Racism: agnesscott.edu/president/bot-jedi.html

Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation Programs and Action: agnesscott.edu/center-for-diversity-andinclusion/truth-racial-healing-andtransformation.html