Welcome from Vice President Griffin-Desta

The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI) was established in late 2020, amid the rising pandemic, amidst the backdrop of anti-Black and Brown violence and rising acts of hatred toward our Asian community. While the need for this Office has been realized for some time, the confluence of various national and local incidents further cemented our commitment to establish the Office.

In preparation, I learned of the many programs and initiatives that had occurred by some of the pioneers of this work at SSU, including Professors Lauren Morimoto and Elisa Velásquez-Andrade, and Dean Karen Schneider, to name a few, and had witnessed the sincere desire to strengthen our commitment to equity and inclusion, not just as abstract goals, but as principles of action and implementation. Thus, it seemed logical to establish, at the highest administrative level, a campus DEI office that would assist in the planning, implementation, advocacy, and dissemination of DEI values, policies, and programs, reinforcing Sonoma State’s comprehensive commitment to work critical to our identity as a public, liberal arts and sciences university.

The purpose of this newsletter, then, is to keep the community informed of and engaged in DEI work across campus. The model on which the ODEI is premised is that of the Beloved Community as reflected in the newsletter’s title. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke often about the Beloved Community, where neither poverty, nor racism, nor violence could take root, and where conflict would be resolved through peaceful means. In this environment, individuals would thrive, having all of their basic needs fulfilled and their hearts transformed from animosity to amity. Dr. King did not view the Beloved Community as an unreachable dream, but rather as a viable goal to which society should aspire and progress. We have adopted Dr. King’s goal as our common vision and underlying foundation for a truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive campus community.

As you will see from the items in this issue of the newsletter, we have chosen to highlight much of the outstanding work happening with our campus colleagues, from this year’s Campus-wide Common Read; to HUB Cultural Center programming; to promising practices from the School of Business and Economics; and creating inclusive classroom environments from the Center for Teaching and Educational Technology. We also share our own theoretical model for the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, as well as specific events – currently the celebration of Latinx Heritage Month – alumni updates, and release of the results from our spring 2021 Campus-wide Climate Survey.

I hope you enjoy the newsletter, and please reach out to Tramaine Austin-Dillon at diversity@sonoma.edu with feedback and suggestions for future content.

Onward,

Jerlena Griffin-Desta, Ph.D.
She, Her, Hers
Chief of Staff to the President
Vice President Strategic Initiatives & Diversity

Office of the President
Sonoma State University
1801 E. Cotati Avenue
Rohnert Park, CA 94928
(707) 664-3613