Photo courtesy of Amanda Sanders.
After 5 years as the Dean of Institutional Equity and Inclusion (DIEI), it was announced on March 2, that John McKnight would resign to begin his new role as Dean of the College at Haverford College. McKnight became the second dean to resign during the 2020-21 academic year, as Jefferson Singer, former Dean of the College, stepped down only a few months prior to return to teaching full time. A search committee was formed to find a replacement for the next DIEI, made up of students, faculty, and staff: co-chairs, Jefferson Singer and Maria-Cruz Saco, and members, Debo Agebile ‘91, Hubert Cook, Ricardo Lombera ‘22, Meera Narayanan-Pandit ‘23, Analissee Rios, Strength and Conditioning Coach, and Assistant Women’s Soccer Coach, and Bryana White, Assistant Director of Student Counseling Services. While the original plan was for the position of DIEI to be filled before the beginning of summer, on June 29, President Bergeron announced that the same members will be returning in early September to continue the search after their top choice, Kijua Sanders-McMurty, Vice President for Equity and Inclusion at Mount Holyoke College, turned down the offer. With the search resuming in early September, it is important to reflect on the successes and the challenges of the DIEI search thus far.
I spoke via email with one of the student members of the search committee, Meera Narayanan-Pandit ‘23 about her reasons for joining the committee as well as her experiences as a member so far. In a future candidate, Narayanan-Pandit is looking for someone who possesses “passion, kindness, [and] understanding,” as well as an ability to connect with students, make changes at the administrative level, and be empathic. In regard to challenges so far within the DIEI search, Narayanan-Pandit explained that while there have been a sufficient number of applicants applying for the job, a “few candidates withdrew for various reasons, candidates that [the committee was]very much excited to bring to the Conn community.” She goes on, stating that, “even with being able to offer the position to an excellent candidate, they withdrew at the final step of the process.” President Bergeron further explained these challenges in the email sent out to the campus community, stating “the very competitive market for chief diversity officers across the country [has made] this search unfold a bit differently than most.”
Moreover, one of the unique attributes that Conn has to offer within the national job search is the tight-knit community that has been created on campus. This bonded community is reflected through the search committee’s diverse selection of people from all aspects of campus life. As Narayanan-Pandit puts it, “there are people from all levels and areas of the Conn community on this committee. We have professors, staff members, students–all of which are from different offices and areas of campus. I realize it is a privilege to be on this committee for choosing such an important figure for Conn, and I appreciate that I am able to contribute as a young Conn student.”
In regard to what comes next for the search committee, President Bergeron wrote in her email to the Conn community, that this summer will be a time to “rebuild the candidate pool” before resuming the search in early September. Narayanan-Pandit “expect[s] there to be more candidates looking for future positions for the next school year, so September is a great time to resume the search process.” When asked about a possible change in mindset, Narayanan-Pandit states, “I haven’t noticed too much change in my mindset for finding a new dean. I think the process is as important as ever, but I still carry the same hopes and expectations for the Dean of DIEI as I did at the start of this search. DIEI is so important, so I am not willing to budge on my expectations of this person. Conn students deserve a Dean of DIEI who is for students, for change, and can help us make change happen.”
Overall, the search committee has been going above and beyond to find someone worthy of the position by the standards of the students, faculty, and staff. It is exciting to see how everything will unfold this coming September at the start of the new academic year and it will well be worth the wait.
