Contemporary CDOs and Plantation Drivers: Critical Considerations for Leading Institutional Change Efforts in Divisive Times

• In Event: Issues of Civility and Diversity in Higher Education

Abstract

In recent years, many higher education institutions have witnessed a significant increase in campus activism regarding the range of experiences and conditions facing racially and ethnically minoritized communities in higher education. Not surprisingly, one of the more frequent student demands has been the call to add chief diversity officer positions. This presentation explores the eerie similarities between the contemporary chief diversity officer and the plantation driver during slavery and highlights the roles these two positions play in the management of diversity change efforts in traditionally White institutions. Specifically, paper focuses on how these two roles have been and potentially continue to be complicit in the repression of campus rebellions. To accomplish these goals, this presentation by feature a daydream scenario in the form of a short allegorical story.

Author

• Franklin Tuitt, University of Denver