"Invitation to the Struggle": Chief Diversity Officers' Negotiation of Policy, Political, and the Personal

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: Experience and Perceptions of Campus Stakeholders on Institutional Climate

Abstract

With increased bias incidents, campus protests, and policymakers calling for free speech regulations, many institutions rely on their Chief Diversity Officers (CDO) to respond to, and coordinate, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. This study explores the complex intrapersonal and interpersonal negotiations CDOs must employ in order to create organizational change to improve DEI on their respective campuses. Using interviews from CDOs at research-intensive universities, we analyzed data using the organizational concept of “Tempered Radicals” to understand the types of negotiations and compartmentalizing leaders of DEI initiatives must do in order to create change. Implications for research and practice are discussed to better understand the role of CDOs as change agents working within unjust organizational contexts.

Authors

• Jeffrey K. Grim, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Tabbye Chavous, University of Michigan

• Laura Sanchez-Parkinson, University of Michigan

• Marie Ting, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor