Organizational change and the chief diversity officer: A case study of institutionalizing a diversity plan.

Abstract

Organizational change around diversity and inclusion does not occur rapidly in higher education. As institutions strive to deliver on their espoused goals, values, and mission to reflect the social and cultural demographics representative of the state, society, and world, many argue the importance of strategic diversity plans. While recruitment and retention initiatives for faculty, staff, and students remain a priority for institutions, it is becoming increasingly evident, particularly for the public good and sustainability, that diversity plans evidence progress and success. The chief diversity officer often leads these organizational change efforts. This paper is a case study of a public research-intensive university's successes and challenges with institutionalization of a diversity plan, including implications for effecting change in the campus organizational culture.

A Model for Strengthening Mentors: Frames and Practices

“…Mentoring is a topic that garners great attention in both the research literature and the popular press as it addresses several critical issues. Organizations struggle to recruit and retain a qualified workforce [ 1 , 2 ]. The mentor–mentee relationship remains a central strategy of developing, supporting and retaining an organization’s employees while developing tomorrow’s leaders [ 3 ].…”

Exploring the status of diversity in policies and practices of Spanish universities. An asymmetric dual model

“…However, since the study was aimed at carrying out a diagnosis of current diversity actions, the administrative managers who were in charge of translating institutional policies into practice could provide the most complete and recent information. In fact, chief diversity officers have a leadership role in the process of institutionalisation of diversity ( Stanley et al., 2019 ) and, as such, they are key figures in the implementation of diversity practices in higher education ( Leon, 2014 ; Worthington et al., 2020 ), and have already participated in other samples when studying diversity actions (e.g., Buenestado-Fernández et al., 2019 ; Griffin et al., 2012 , 2019 ).…”

Stakeholder Perceptions and Experiences of a College Live Mascot Program: a Study of Higher Education Ad Hoc Change

“…Higher education practitioners and researchers have implemented and followed Kotter's (1995) change model to initiate organizational change (Farris et al, 2009;Kang et al, 2020;Nahata et al, 2010;Woods et al, 2017). The majority of Kotter-related literature in higher education studied internally-led implementation of all or part of the eight steps as prescribed in a variety of contexts, such as: faculty development (Leugers et al, 2009;Simonson, 2005), curricular reform (Farris et al, 2009;Nahata et al, 2010), and diversity (Stanley et al, 2019;Watts, Cuellar, & O'Sullivan, 2008). Not until recently have scholars called for additional research and robust theorizing of Kotter's (1995) change model, which is where this study is situated (Appelbaum et al, 2012;Kang et al, 2020;Simonson, 2005).…”

“…Institutions of higher education are often seen as resistant to change or tied to tradition. External pressures (e.g., accreditation, cultural and diversity issues) often provide triggers sparking institutional and episodic change within American colleges and universities (Farris et al, 2009;Fumasoli & Stensaker, 2013;Kang et al, 2020;Stanley et al, 2019;Woods et al, 2017). Influenced by Lewin's (1951) three stages (unfreeze-transition-refreeze), Weick and Quinn (1999) introduced the term episodic as changes "that tend to be infrequent, discontinuous, and intentional…occur in distinct periods during which shifts are precipitated by external events" (p. 365).…”