BEDI Advisory Council

In 2020, following the murder of George Floyd, the ID Council held a series of open forums for the NSU community to share their pain, anger, and hopes for a response from the university. President Hanbury responded to this request by forming a Steering Committee charged with providing him with recommendations for expanding NSU’s long-standing commitment to diversity. The Steering Committee recommended bringing in the expertise of DL Plummer and Associates, “a team of seasoned professionals who support organizations and communities to leverage differences in order to drive their missions and achieve their business objectives” (Team — DL Plummer). A series of steps taken under the guidance and support of this team led to the following:

• A university-wide Diversity Engagement Survey to provide baseline data
• A series of Listening Circles to gather further in-depth data from groups identified by the survey
• Reporting directly to President Hanbury with the Provost as executive sponsor
• An Intercultural Development Inventory conducted with the President’s Council along with individualized coaching

NSU’s first diversity-related council was the Inclusion and Diversity (ID) Council organized by Dr. Debra Nixon and Dean Honggang Yang in the former School of Humanities and Social Sciences in 2006. The council was established as part of the Campus Climate initiative “Do Something Different.” The group’s primary objective was to invite a campus-wide change in behavior related to diversity matters. Dr. Nixon served as the first chair of the Council, followed in succession by Dr. Michael Caldwell and Dr. Robin Cooper. Dean Yang provided steadfast leadership, encouragement, and resources to support the initiatives of the ID Council.

From 2006 to 2020, the Inclusion and Diversity Council organized and hosted two discussion series: Diversity Dialogues and Inclusive Campus Conversations.

The Diversity Dialogues were initiated to bring the university community together to consider issues of diversity. Dr. Nixon conceived the idea based on behavioral changes of her students in a Marriage and Family Therapy Diversity course. The Diversity Dialogues, based on this classroom experience, were guided by the premise that one chief reason communities continue to struggle with issues of difference (diversity) is that there has not been a healthy platform to talk honestly and openly about them. In 2015, the forum transitioned to become Inclusive Campus Conversations sponsored by the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. These were led by Dr. Michael Caldwell followed by Dr. Robin Cooper, with the strong support of Dean Yang.

Over many years, the ID Council also organized and hosted diversity-related initiatives related to Hispanic Heritage Month and Black History Month, as well as dialogue processes held in response to divisive political issues. While the ID Council was open to the whole university community, it was a grassroots initiative, rather than a group endorsed and supported by university leadership, and did not include participants from all university constituents.

In 2022, the President recommended and the NSU Board of Trustees approved the addition of a diversity initiative to Vision 2025 - the university strategic priorities. In support of the initiative, the BEDI Advisory Council developed its first set of action plans for the 2022-23 fiscal year that were approved and funded by the President. In addition, a new BEDI website was created to support communication.

We will guide NSU toward inclusive excellence by cultivating and supporting the ongoing development and implementation of processes, procedures, and programs that promote greater belonging, equity, diversity, and inclusion throughout all aspects of the University, so that all members of NSU can be empowered to pursue their full potential and do their very best work.