Four years ago (January 5, 2016) I did a post titled: “5 Tips for Inaugural Chief Diversity Officers (CDO) in Universities”. I was half way through my fourth year at Ryerson University as the inaugural, Assistant Vice President/Vice Provost of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). As such, my mandate was to provide leadership, advocacy, and coordination for the institution … [Read more...]
Why Chief Diversity Officers (CDO) Need to Step Their Game Up
Seven years ago (January 29, 2013) I did a post titled: "What is as Chief Diversity Officer (CDO)?". I had been in my new post at Ryerson University for about five months as its inaugural, Assistant Vice President/Vice Provost of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). As such, my mandate was to provide leadership, advocacy, and coordination for the institution such that all … [Read more...]
Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing” and the Chief Diversity Officer (CDO)
This month is the 25th Anniversary of Spike Lee’s film Do the Right Thing. I remember seeing the film for the first and only time in 1989. The film portrayed tensions between the local residents and an Italian-American family in the Black neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, on the hottest day of the summer. In a Rolling Stones interview, Lee … [Read more...]
A Note to Chief Diversity Officers: Be A Rainbow in the Clouds
When I heard that Dr. Maya Angelou had died on May 28, I was sad to hear she had passed away. She was such a phenomenal woman that all types of media outlets reported on her death, including Canada’s Globe and Mail. That following Sunday on Oprah’s OWN network, they broadcast several interviews that Oprah had done with Maya Angelou. For three hours I … [Read more...]
What Is a Chief Diversity Officer (CDO)?
In 2012, I was named the inaugural Assistant Vice President/Vice Provost of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) for Ryerson University, which is located in Toronto, Ontario. As such, my mandate is to provide leadership, advocacy, and coordination for the institution such that all members of our Ryerson community have the opportunity to learn, work, and live in an … [Read more...]