Over the past couple of months of the legislative session, there have been discussions on the benefits of equity, diversity, and inclusion in higher education in the state of Utah. President Randall stated to the legislature, “Universities can be a place for ideas to thrive, rather than ideological battles – a place where unfettered dialogue can occur.”
With nearly one-third of our students coming from diverse populations, this subject matters deeply to the president and the entire university. University of Utah’s Vice President for Government Relations, Jason Perry, shared the institutional perspective on where we are and what we plan to do to advance the dialogue and conversation on this most important topic.
A strong sense of belonging helps students feel safer and more supported on campus and studies show this positively impacts student persistence, graduation, and even performance. But students who have the hardest time feeling like they belong on campus and in the classroom may need additional support from their institutions.
“Ensuring Belonging for All” panelists discussed the recent research on belonging that has made the concept more visible and tangible, the difficulties that still affect belonging for marginalized communities, and the challenges for faculty and staff.
Speakers
Mary Ann Villarreal, PhD
Vice President for Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion
The University of Utah
Moderator
Dr. Mary Ann Villarreal is fueled by an unwavering commitment to ensure the doors to receiving a degree remain open and the table is set for everyone to participate. As the inaugural vice president for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the University of Utah, she provides leadership and strategic oversight of diversity and inclusion initiatives across the University’s academic and health sciences campuses. This opportunity unites her extensive experience in higher education and her passion for social justice in leading the University on its journey to becoming an anti-racist community.
Jason Perry, JD
Vice President for Government Relations
Director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics
The University of Utah
Presenter
Jason Perry (he/him) is the Director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics and the Vice President for Government Relations for the University of Utah. Jason brings more than 25 years of experience working in the public sector, where he has worked extensively with policy makers at the local, state, and federal levels. Previously, Jason served as the Chief of Staff to Governor Gary Herbert, and was the Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development under Jon Huntsman where Jason was honored as CEO of the Year by Utah Business Magazine. Jason also worked in the Attorney General’s office and was an intern and later, a staff member to Senator Orrin Hatch. Jason is a graduate of the S.J. Quinney College of Law, where he now teaches law students the role of ethics and politics in creating legislation.
Rachel Bonnette, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher and Project Coordinator
Department of Instruction and Learning
University at Buffalo
Panelist
Rachel Bonnette (she/her) is a Learning Scientist in the Department of Learning and Instruction at the University of Buffalo. Her research focus is on transforming neurodivergent learning and belonging in STEM using Intersectionality and a social model of disability as a lens for examining current practices and new interventions for removing barriers to inclusion. She relies on co-design processes and interdisciplinarity to engage in equitable design-based research that emphasizes addressing inequality from the perspective of neurodivergent students, in addition to elevating the expertise of practitioners. Her prior published work includes both in- and out-of-school learning, including young adult learning in makerspace communities of practice and factors that influence middle school students’ science fascination.
Allison BrckaLorenz, PhD
Associate Research Scientist
Center for Postsecondary Research
Indiana University Bloomington
Panelist
Allison BrckaLorenz, Ph.D. (she/her) is the director of the College + University Teaching Environments project, project manager for the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement, and a research scientist for the National Survey of Student Engagement. In her work at the Center for Postsecondary Research, she helps people use data to make improvements on their campuses, uses data to highlight the experiences of traditionally marginalized subpopulations, and provides professional development opportunities and mentoring to graduate students. Her research interests focus on supportive teaching environments for faculty, the teaching and learning of college students and the accompanying issues faced by faculty, the socialization of graduate students, and the experiences of small and understudied populations.
Timothy Eatman, PhD
Dean and Professor
Rutgers University – Newark
Panelist
Timothy K. Eatman, Ph.D., (he/him) an educational sociologist and publicly engaged scholar, serves as the Inaugural Dean of the Honors Living – Learning Community and Professor of Urban Education at Rutgers University-Newark. He holds or has held several leadership positions of note within higher education including as faculty co-director of the national consortium Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public Life (2012 – 2016). Tim currently serves as national co-chair of the Urban Research Based Action Network and past chair of the International Association for Research on Service Learning and Community Engagement. Tim is in his second term on the board of directors of the American Association of Colleges and Universities currently serving as vice-chair. Pursuing a rigorous scholarly agenda, Tim publishes widely, serves on editorial boards and reviews for Academic publishing houses, scholarly journals and conferences. He is co-editor of The Cambridge Handbook of Service Learning and Community Engagement.
Na Lor
Assistant Professor of Sociology and Education
Teachers College
Columbia University
Panelist
Na Lor (she/her) is Assistant Professor of Sociology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University’s Department of Education Policy and Social Analysis. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis with a focus on higher education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Lor researches education inequity from a cultural historical perspective using multiple methods and interdisciplinary approaches. Her recent work includes exploration of cultural ideals and aspirations that shape non-dominant (e.g., non-White and non-upperclass) student success in higher education, such as collective thriving, cultural flourishing, and cultural identity development. Her current projects involve examination of ethnic studies as a pathway for mitigating cultural tensions and contradictions that emerge in becoming a “college educated person” as well as assessment of ethnic studies implementation and student learning outcomes at the postsecondary level, including at community colleges and among White students at predominantly White institutions.