Three finalists in the search for an associate provost of diversity, equity and inclusion visited campus from Dec. 2 to Dec. 6.

Each candidate met with members of the search advisory committee (SAC) and other campus leaders, and presented during a 45 minute open forum with the community throughout the week. The Hawk elected not to release the names of the candidates, as they are currently employed at other institutions.

Each presentation held in Forum Theater was attended by an average of approximately 70 people, including faculty, staff and students. Candidates spoke about their personal and professional backgrounds, as well as how they would approach diversity, equity and inclusion at St. Joe’s if they are hired.

Presentations covered a wide range of topics, including Title IX, bias incident response, marginalized student groups, faculty diversity training, undocumented student protection, St. Joe’s Jesuit identity and more.

Candidate presentations were also held in May of this year during the university’s prior search to fill the position that was then named “chief inclusion and diversity officer.” The search did not result in a hire.

The position has been vacant since former assistant provost for inclusion and diversity, Monica Nixon, Ed.D., left the university in July 2018. Waddell Ridley, MBA ’19, assistant vice president of government and community relations, currently serves as interim chief inclusion and diversity officer.

Following their presentations, candidates responded to questions from attendees, which was facilitated by SAC co-chairs Kim Allen-Stuck, Ph.D., assistant vice president of Student Success, and Janée Burkhalter, associate professor of marketing.

Allen-Stuck said open forums have been part of the interview process during the last three searches for a chief diversity officer and are common practice in higher education job searches.

“For the APDEI position there are so many members of the community who would like to be involved, so open forums are one way to accomplish this goal,” Allen-Stuck said in an email to The Hawk.

Those who attended candidate presentations were invited to complete an evaluation of each finalist, rating how well they think each candidate could fulfill the associate provost’s responsibilities outlined in the official position description on search firm Spelman Johnson’s website.

“The evaluations will be factored into the search committee’s review of the candidates, and the feedback from so many stakeholders will be very helpful,” Allen-Stuck said in an email to The Hawk.

The provost is expected to make an offer by mid-December, according to the Office of Inclusion and Diversity’s website. Allen-Stuck said the anticipated start of the associate provost of diversity, equity and inclusion position will depend on the candidate’s availability.