Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion expands staff

Building a team of people with complementary abilities to fulfill the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’s (DEI) mission is being realized with the addition of several new employees.

Karen Jones, vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion, says it’s all about building from the bench strengths already in place.

“We know we have a team, but with only so many members we needed to find folks who have strengths in many areas — those who have experience facilitating workshops, or facilitating programs or teaching classes because we have to have not only the macro view but the micro view.”

Creating this new team has been an interesting process, Jones said. “There’s swelling and then there’s growth. Growth is sustainable, and that is what we are building upon — creating sustainable growth with an added value. Swelling is like ‘I ate too much and now I’m a little uncomfortable.’

“Growth is organic, natural and it makes sense to be thinking about how individuals have insight, perceptions and expertise that complement everyone in the division,” she said. “We’re thinking about the needs we have today, but also what needs we’re going to have tomorrow.”

Jones focused on the mission of the institution and the division as the reorganization and hiring plan for the division came together. “My goal is to get each person to identify how they contribute to the mission of the division,” she said. “Our role is to create a campus community where everyone can feel welcome — faculty, staff and students. We serve as the pulse of the community.

“We have a responsibility to make certain we’re establishing strategic partnerships, reaching out, establishing good relationships and that we are a place where faculty, students and staff can feel welcome and where we can advocate for them, guide them and nurture and support them; contribute to their professional and academic success,” she said.

Ada Robinson-Perez has transitioned from her role as an assistant professor in the Binghamton University Department of Social Work to join the DEI team as affirmative action officer. Robinson-Perez is “revving up” to assist with Research Foundation searches, working on bias complaints and discrimination investigations, and working in collaboration with Human Resources and the Title IX officer.

“I’m also excited about building an advisory bias-incident response team with strategic partners,” she said. “And with the pandemic, the Americans with Disabilities Act has been a big topic to efficiently address so we ensure that all of our employees have what they need to be successful.”

Anne Guanciale is filling the new role of director of intercultural affairs and will oversee both the University’s Multicultural Resource Center (MRC) and Q Center.

“We redesigned the MRC and Q Center areas to create a more synergistic way for them to work with each other,” Jones said. “In talking with Kelly Clark (who retired from the director of the Q Center position earlier this year), I learned that the needs from five years ago are not the needs of today. So we’ll have an assistant director for the MRC and Q Center who can identify ways the two can collaborate and still be distinct.”

“It’s exciting to be working with the both Multicultural Resource Center and the Q Center,” said Guanciale. “I’m still getting a sense of what the needs are and meeting a lot of people, listening to a lot of stories and histories, and figuring out what the student needs are. I’ll be representing the division, working with campus partners and cultural student organizations. I want to know our stakeholders.”

Nicholas “Nick” Martin is coming into the assistant director position, supporting the day-to-day operations and programming for the Q Center. “I’ll be working to bring students, faculty and staff together, and the Q Center should be the hub of that. I want to continue building strong programs, in particular our Active Ally program, and to do some mentoring. I hope to get the Q Center into classrooms and get our mark out there so people know we’re here.”

Another Nic, but this one Nicole Francisco (known as Dr. Nic) is the new Q Center coordinator. “The Q Center is more than just a student center, and what’s exciting for me, my big goal, is to move the Q Center into a direct connection with faculty and staff,” Francisco said. “My background is in teaching, and having worked in student affairs, this programming has opened up another pathway for me in teaching.”

And Korin Kirk will serve as coordinator for diversity education, advancing the mission of the UDiversity Educational Institute. “This work is essential to build a thriving community where everyone has access to success and their best quality of life,” Kirk said. “I once heard an educator say, ’We must ensure we are not raising bigots’ and that really stuck with me.

“It further solidified, for me, the need for the UDiversity Educational Institute,” Kirk added. “Binghamton University as an educational institution saw the importance of providing opportunities for exploration of diversity, equity and inclusion in order to create citizens who approach the world we live in, the communities we create and the relationships we build with equity and inclusion in mind.”

In addition to the new DEI staff, Tanyah Barnes has moved into the associate director of operations role for the division.