Russ White 0:00
Well following a national search Michigan State University President Samuel L. Stanley, Jr, MD, has named Jabbar Bennett as the university's Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer. Bennett will also be a professor in MSU College of human medicine. He most recently served as Northwestern University's inaugural associate provost for diversity and inclusion and its chief diversity officer. As Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Bennett will report directly to President Stanley and work collaboratively with other university senior executives, deans, faculty, staff and students to develop and implement a comprehensive Diversity, Equity and Inclusion plan. And it's a pleasure to welcome Jabbar for the first time to MSU today, welcome, sir. Hi, Russ. Thank you. I appreciate the warm welcome. Just give us a little bit of a snapshot of your background and career path that have led you to this new and important position at MSU. Just sort of Introduce yourself a bit to Spartan nation.

Jabbar Bennett 1:03
Absolutely. So I was born and reared in Winston Salem, North Carolina. So I am a southerner by birth. I'm the youngest child and only son of two parents. Both are deceased. And they actually attended to historically black colleges, universities, and I followed them in that way. And I'll talk about that very shortly. I also just want to mention because it is a part of my history is that I am the great great grandson of enslaved Africans who were held captive in South Carolina. I went to public schools. I finished high school though, at a residential school called the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, my home state where I was able to be exposed to science and math at a high level, actually a college level by some really tough faculty. And it was that experience that really helped to shore up my interest in science. I went on to North Carolina a&t State University, historically black college in Greensboro, North Carolina, where I received a bachelor's degree in biology and a minor in Spanish. And one thing I want to say about North Carolina a&t State University, as my mother attended as an undergraduate student, and my middle sister and father obtain master's degrees from there. Many people have heard of North Carolina a&t or they've heard of a group of four gentlemen called the ANC four or the Greensboro four, or the Woolworth Woolworth board. But those were for freshmen, who on February 1 of 1960, actually staged a sit in at a Woolworths store. And that actually at the lunch counter in that store, you may remember Russ and some people who are listening Woolworths for all the things they used to sell and search they provided. But the long story short, and without going into a history lesson right now, these four gentlemen sat in at a lunch counter and demanded to be served for food they purchased at a time where segregation was was legal in the United States. And it was through their bravery that they helped to desegregate that particular location as well as other stores across the country that were will worse and other types of places as well. So I'm proud to say my mother was a member of the class in 1963, along with those gentlemen, and participated in advocacy at that time, they help again, paved the way for many of the rights and privileges that African Americans and many other members of underrepresented groups have in this country today. But after I left Northland ANC many years later, I earned a doctorate degree in Biomedical Sciences from the harissa Medical College, which is in Nashville, Nashville, Tennessee. It also is a historically black college, a completed postdoctoral training in the department of pathology at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

After all this education, I did start working professionally, starting out at Harvard Medical School directly after my postdoc transitioning into an administrative role doing research and science specialist related work in an office for diversity, inclusion and community partnership. completed a couple of fellowships during my time in an office, one was the Massachusetts education policy fellowship program, and another was the Harvard University administrative Fellows Program. I had a keen interest even as a undergraduate student to pursue a career in higher education administration. I didn't know exactly what I do, but what I did realize is that with education, you can open on Any door. And by learning as much as I could about policy in the higher ed space, as well as getting an experience as an administrator, that would help me I knew to obtain the knowledge I needed, and gain the skills necessary to do this work and do it well to advocate for others. I worked in that office for a few years learning about how to help recruit and support members of underrepresented groups who in that instance, were interested in pursuing careers in the biomedical sciences and health professions, but then transitioned away from specific work related to the health professions of biomedical sciences and took a job at a nonprofit working for United Way in Boston. This was truly a leap of faith for me as I had never done this work before. But it was also a leap of faith for the organization, because they hired me to take on a role as a senior director for Life Sciences, healthcare industry partnerships, so essentially help deepen and extend their reach into the industries that I just mentioned, to help further the mission of the United Way through dollars that would help support the work in the communities, but also just to create relationships with individuals and leaders within those spaces. So I had a really good experience working with the United Way, and learned a lot that benefited me later. I left United Way after a while and sort of came back to higher ed, but really began focusing my efforts in academic medicine, when I took a job at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, which is one of Harvard Medical school's teaching affiliates. And in that role, I was the first director of an office for multicultural faculty careers that work to help support the work of underrepresented minority MD and PhD students, trainees and faculty who were learning and training and delivering clinical care conducting research in that environment. I learned a lot while I was at Brigham and Women's Hospital, about people about patient care and interaction about quality of care. And that really helped to solidify and broaden my interest and the scope of work that I could do more broadly in higher ed. After leaving Brigham Women's Hospital, I joined Brown University, as associate dean of the graduate school and Associate Dean for diversity in the Division of biology and medicine. And there, I was able to help support graduate students and medical students as well as postdocs and clinical residents and fellows and faculty, who are members of underrepresented groups, trying to get education to be trained, and to conduct research and teach in that environment. It was a wonderful time. And I learned a lot while I was working in in that environment at Brown. And it again, continuing to broaden my perspective and build a skill set that I would later use when I was approached about pursuing an opportunity at Northwestern as its inaugural associate provost for diversity, inclusion, and chief diversity officer. That experience Northwestern gave me a central view from a institutional sort of perspective about how work to effectively move Diversity, Equity and Inclusion alone could be done. And I value that experience greatly. I'll say that at Northwestern, as well as at Brown, and working at Brigham Women's Hospital. I've maintained faculty appointments as well to be engaged in the work of recruitment, the work of support education, training, leadership development, for members of underrepresented groups. And after that experience at Northwestern and seeing what could be done, I thought about it got really excited about opportunities to do this work in other places and in different ways. Thinking holistically about the people and the work, that diversity equity inclusion may encompass.

Russ White 9:24
Well, I think Jabbar the last part of that answer there leads up to my next question you sort of started to answer. So what attracted you to this position of Chief Diversity Officer at MSU? And what do you see yourself trying to accomplish in the role

Jabbar Bennett 9:39
I want to talk a bit about Michigan State itself, but then talk about the role. As I learned about this opportunity at MSU and began to do my research, I realized that MSU has been a forerunner and innovator for a very long time. As a land grant institution, and what I appreciated about this aspect of his identity is that MSU recognizes the ancestral, traditional and contemporary lands that Native Americans that it occupies. I am familiar with him MSU, because again, it is a member of the big 10 academic Alliance and Athletic Conference, as is Northwestern. But I was pleased by the learning what I had, and the research I conducted regarding its leading status being a global research institution, his core values of quality, inclusion and connectivity, which do align with my own personal values, and also learning and understanding more about the diverse and robust campus community that exists. What excited me about the role itself is its structure. And its reporting, it reports directly to President Stanley, you mentioned him earlier. And when you do this type of work in a place like MSU, that is so big, and has so many parts to it, it's really important to have support, access in partnership with the president and other executives at the institution. I also was aware of the solid foundation that has been built at MSU, over many years by a lot of people to really think about how to develop and launch work that is relevant. And that can help support the current and emerging needs of the SPARC community. There's so many people who I've met over the past several weeks, who were part of my interview process live reached out to me since the announcement that I'll be joining who are ready to lend a hand who are ready to be supportive in any way. And the other thing that attracted me to this particular role is the opportunity to work with local or regional community groups and individuals, which is something I hadn't done a lot of since I left United Way in Boston. And the last thing I'll say is that this is truly a transformative time at MSU. And there is a renewed commitment to diversity equity inclusion, I was happy to learn about the strategic planning process that is ongoing at the institution along with the diversity Equity and Inclusion plan. And I look forward to learning more about what those processes have developed, and how we will integrate the diversity, equity, inclusion related work and needs into the broader strategy.

Russ White 12:48
So how do you define Diversity, Equity and Inclusion? And why is a position like this at a place like MSU? importance? What's at stake?

Jabbar Bennett 12:57
That's a very good question, Russ. And I'm so happy that you did ask because traditionally, people think about diversity as being different or sort of, you know, collecting a different type of thing or a different type of people. And that's very true. But diversity doesn't stop at the traditional identities that we are used to thinking about, such as race and ethnicity or sex, but it is inclusive and not limited to sexual orientation, gender expression, and eye density, ability, status, all types of things socio economic status, first generation status as relates to our students. So I do think of diversity in a quantitative way. But hopefully, some of the examples I gave again, which are not totally inclusive of diversity, sort of represent how I think about this. Now, inclusion itself, though, is an act or practice of really thinking about how to include and accommodate people who have been historically excluded. And again, I go back to some of the identities that we tend to think about or come to mind. First, people have a particular race or ethnicity, gender, sexuality and ability. How do we actively ensure that these individuals are being included, that their identities are being recognized, as well as valued and and how do we think about moving closer toward excellence? Understanding that we can only do this when we do have a diverse and inclusive community and community members and equity I think about as being fairness justice, just as according to the law or right and really freedom From bias or favoritism, treating everyone with fairness, and ensuring that everyone has the right to access the various resources and opportunities that are available, I want to add a fourth term here outside of diversity, inclusion and equity. And that is inclusive excellence. And I like inclusive excellence, which has been coined in the past several years, because it really speaks to an active, intentional and ongoing engagement with diversity in ways that increase personal and social awareness, as well as content knowledge, cognitive development and sophistication and empathetic understanding of one another. No one can possess every identity out there. But it is a fact that we all do have various identities and that they intersect with one another. And that intersection of identities can cause us to be a particular way to feel a certain way to have complex again, of thoughts and reactions to things that may happen to us and around us. So it's very important to acknowledge those intersections, but essentially inclusive excellence is an active process. And I think when we all understand that this is work that everyone must contribute to, and has to actively contribute to every day in order to advance, then we'd be much more closer to reaching our

Russ White 16:41
goal. We're getting to know Michigan State University's new chief diversity officer, Jabbar Bennett, this is MSU today, I'm Russ white, and Jabbar, I realize you're just getting started. But talk a little bit about the mission, the vision, the values of your office for inclusion and intercultural initiatives, and maybe some short and long term goals if you've even had time to set any yet

Jabbar Bennett 17:03
sure, Russ has a great question. And I'm still working on it. But I can tell you I know enough about MSU. And I know enough about this work to be able to share some some really early thoughts. So our mission aligns within very closely supports, of course, the university's mission, and the university's mission is to advance knowledge and transform lives. In addition, the work of my office and my team, it embraces issues core values of quality, inclusion and connectivity. So we do our work through an equity lens. And remember, I talked about equity being related to fairness and justice and sort of addressing bias, but we do work that is equity lens, with the understanding that true different true excellence cannot be achieved without diversity. So in our work, we considered diversity among members of our community, we acknowledge various ways of living, learning and working, and we promote inclusive practices and policies, which support the success of all Spartans. Now, historically, the work in my office and amongst my team has been focused broadly on issues of what I'll call access, equity, enrichment and well being. So access being who are we recruiting? How are we recruiting these students, these learners these trainings that come to the institution, who are we hiring, and how are we hiring them? What type of best practices are we using? I've talked already a bit about equity, fairness, justice, giving people what they need to be successful and thrive. enrichment, I think about as being education, training, and well being just making sure that we are acknowledging individuals that we are giving, especially those who have members of underrepresented groups, the support that they need, as well as affinity groups. And this work that has been done over time has helped to benefit students, faculty, staff, alumni, and members of the external community. I don't envision that this work will change dramatically. But what I do know is that we will begin to focus our efforts to ensure efficiency and impact. And we'll do this while we're addressing the critical needs of today's students, faculty and staff. So in the short term, this could mean bolstering our enrichment efforts, and I talked about enrichment being basically education and training. But I also know that we need to also think about how we are supporting the well being of members of our communities. If we do this well in the short term, it'll help guarantee that everyone on campus acknowledges, respects and embraces the ever evolving composition and character of the Spartan community, as well as promote the safety, satisfaction well being an overall success of Spartans, including those who are members of underrepresented groups. So in the meantime, what we'll do is, you know, monitor and assess what's what's happening. Think about the relevance and impact of our current efforts. And of course, we have to remain vigilant and anticipate what no persistent and emerging needs may

Russ White 20:40
arise. So what are some challenges and opportunities to achieving your goals, and how will you know, if you have an impact,

Jabbar Bennett 20:47
you know, being transparent, one of the first challenges that I will have is a personal one. So I'm brand new to MSU. No one knows me. And because of that, I may not be trusted immediately. And I may not gain the necessary buy in to deploy the strategy that's currently being considered. But I am truly confident that this will change over time. And that will change over time, as I began to meet with people learn more about them the work that they do, what are their thoughts about the work that we should be doing? And how can we partner to do it together. Another challenge that I know I'll face on campus is that I don't have a full understanding of the campus culture, and the context in which his work has been done today, and how it might impact our efforts moving forward. But again, as I continue to meet people to get to listen to practice engaged, listening, I'm confident that this will change over time as well. There are a few challenges that I will sort of classify as operational, that I also will have to determine how to address in the best way, I realize that my staff alone don't have the capacity to do the much needed work for the growing demand for our services. I also want to acknowledge and I must, that it's not just an MSU. But across the country, the fatigue and burnout that students and employees may be feeling as relates to them, adjusting to this new normal that we're in, that COVID has essentially helped to cause. So how do we think about supporting our partners and allies in this work, as well as those of us who really spend a lot of time thinking intently about what we should do and how we do it. And I'm speaking about staff internally in my office. I also know that there will be people on campus and off students and colleagues, folks in the community who may not fully understand or acknowledge this work is critical to promoting the overall success of the university. So want to be sure we spend time talking about engaging with people understand what people's thoughts and beliefs are, in order to make any clarification so that we can move together, forward together. And lastly, of course, due to COVID, and other things that are maybe external, who knows what potential budget constraints may exist, and how this could impact our ability to do work that we feel like needs to be done now, in the short term. And Jabbar we

Russ White 23:51
mentioned at the tap to that you're also a professor at the College of human medicine. I'm sure it's that role is developing too. But what can you tell us about what you'll be doing there

Jabbar Bennett 23:59
in the College of Medicine, I will not have any sort of full time teaching responsibilities as I am hired as the vice president, Chief Diversity Officer. But I surely look to be engaged with colleagues in the college and to help assist and really learn more about how that unit functions. Throughout my career. I have worked with medical students from recruitment to retention to success, as well as residents and clinical fellows have worked with faculty recruitment as support issues related to promotion and success and leadership development. And I'm also keenly interested on the delivery of culturally competent care to our patients, members of our community, and how can we assure that we understand who our patients are, and help support them through the various issues that they may come to us for to see assistance? And how do we communicate with families? And how do we help provide support for them as well if their loved ones may be receiving care from any of our caregivers, so I hope to be really keenly involved with my colleagues within the college is for

Russ White 25:19
so Jabbar, how can listeners get involved with you and your team? How would you like the Spartan and greater mission Michigan community to, to interact with you in your office and help you realize your mission on so there's truly an opportunity for everyone to play, everyone has a role to play in

Jabbar Bennett 25:38
helping move this important work of diversity equity inclusion forward, I'll first say that we all have to embrace and leverage our own position of power as agents of change wherever we sit, whether we're students, faculty, staff, alumni or members of the community, we also need to acknowledge that we are more similar than we are unalike. And when we do that, I think that'll break down a lot of the misconceptions and potential hesitancy that we have to engage and to help and assist in various ways. We have to spend time getting to know people who do not share all of our identities, I think that's really important. We have to treat people the way that we would like to be treated. You've heard that many times over, I'm sure. And what I've been saying a lot lately, Russ, to people as I've had a chance to talk, you know, sort of individually in groups, and publicly is that we need to especially now, we need to choose to be kind, because I think kindness goes a very long way. But if people want to contact me or my office, you can email us at VPC do@msu.edu, that's VP C, D o@msu.edu. Or you can call at 51735339 to four, that's 517-353-3924. And when you call or contact us, we can talk about engagement opportunities. Maybe you could volunteer and support university wide program and related to diversity, equity inclusion, maybe you can come and participate in some of our programs or events. And now that's done virtually, but you must surely join us. And also encourage prospective students, faculty and staff to consider MSU as a place to study and work. And of course, if you want to make any financial contributions to help support and expand our efforts, feel more than welcome.

Russ White 27:50
And Jabbar there's certainly more to it inclusion that msu.edu, the website for your office for inclusion and intercultural initiatives. And it's really been a joy to get to know you a bit, I can see why President Stanley hired you your passion really shows and just as we close kind of summarize what you want us to know about you and sort of your goals as you get started.

Jabbar Bennett 28:13
Thank you, Russ. Thank you. And I appreciate the opportunity to share a few things here as we wind down. I believe that we can make MSU an even more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and exemplary world class institution if we all do our part. So just as we were for runners and innovators that provided a model for land grant institutions across the nation, we have an opportunity to lead the way and demonstrate what inclusive excellence looks like. And we can do this by modeling that behavior for our current and future students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Now I'm committed to doing my part, and my team has been doing theirs. But now we must all decide the role we will play to help realize this vision and position MSU to be a beacon and an inspiration to our community, nation in the world, especially during this period of diminished light, waning hope and lack of compassion among many of us. That's Dr. Jabbar Bennett, Michigan State University's new Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer. Again, feel free to reach out to him and his team at VP c d o@msu.edu. And I'm Russ white, this is MSU today

Transcribed by https://otter.ai