As OU makes strides toward a more diverse and equitable campus, some students stressed the importance of having leaders from marginalized communities, feeling underrepresented in university leadership.
Identity should be found in professors, advisors and staff members, Alan Drake, 2022 OU Black Student Association royalty, said. Without inclusive mentorship, students may become more sheltered, they said, leading to poor mental health.
This year, OU welcomed its most diverse freshman class in university history, but approximately 70 percent of its non-instructional staff and 65 percent of instructional staff are white, according to the 2021-2022 IPEDS Data Collection System. Out of the 16 OU Norman campus deans, Denise Stephens, the dean of OU libraries, is the only person of color.
Stephens has worked at several universities but returned to OU, where she completed graduate school in 1993, last year after hearing about the university's plans for the future, specifically OU President Joseph Harroz Jr.’s Lead On, University strategic plan. Since she attended OU, Stephens said the campus has progressed significantly.
"The only way I can compare it is based on what I knew 30 years ago, and this is a considerably more diverse environment than it was back in 1993,” Stephens said. “Is it where I think we'd all like it to be? I can't say it is, but that's why every university has a major strategic goal to continue developing in that area, because I think we all understand the importance of having the richness that comes with varying viewpoints and experiences."
Historically, OU has been a predominately white institution, although it has become more culturally diverse in the past eight years. According to the spring 2022 enrollment analysis, 41.2 percent of undergraduate students are not white, which is a 5.2 percent point increase from fall of 2014.
In comparison to OU, the University of Texas at Austin's staff is 59.75 percent white and two people of color are among the university's deans. At Oklahoma State University, about 65 percent of faculty is white, according to OSU's 2021 Diversity Ledger. OSU has also seen an 88 percent increase in African American, Native American, Latinx and biracial and multiracial faculty since 2010.
Out of the 34 leadership positions and 24 dean positions on all three OU campuses, 18 are held by women and six are held by persons of color, according to an OU spokesperson.
The spokesperson wrote that it is a transitional time for the university. Out of the current officers and deans, nine are on an interim or acting basis. As the university tries to fill those positions, standard hiring protocols will be followed, the spokesperson wrote.
Saramarie Azzun, president of the OU African Student Association, said since the student population is diverse, the campus leadership and faculty should reflect that. She said some of her friends have dropped out of OU because they felt unseen.
Black students represent only 5.4 percent of OU’s Fall 2022 enrollment, and Azzun said it is up to campus leadership to make them feel valued and understood.
“Although we are just a number, I think it's the campus leadership's responsibility to make us feel like we are more than just a number and a statistic,” Azzun said.
Stephens reflected on OU’s predominately white campus leadership and said people must look deeper than race.
"Try to understand where all of these folks have come from, and what they're bringing to the work rather than superficial indicators of whether they have, should have or can have a positive impact on the students,” Stephens said.
Oliver Wu, president of the Asian American Student Association, shared similar sentiments to Azzun's, adding that being able to see members from marginalized communities in leadership is important to ensure that everyone is adequately represented in the university's decisions and that their concerns are heard.
Stephens agreed, saying the university has to listen and adapt to the student body if they will ever succeed in bringing more diversity to campus.
"The student body needs to be heard. And I think we cannot do our jobs with confidence that we're having the impact that we need to have, if we're not engaged with students," Stephens said. "We have to interact with them and learn from them and listen to them in order to make sure we can address not only their needs but opportunities that the students present to help us be a better, stronger institution."
In July of 2020, OU launched its strategic plan — Lead On, University — which includes five pillars that represent the various goals of the university. Pillar 4 includes two strategies — to prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion as a "cultural strength of OU," and to develop systems that promote diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives for faculty and staff, according to the Lead On, University website.
Stephens said the campus deans meet regularly to discuss their progress in achieving these initiatives, especially when it comes to diversity.
"The basis for increasing the diversity at the university is in the structure of the strategic plan. That's what we are all coalescing, the work in the colleges (and) the work here, our objectives and goals around helping to advance that Lead On strategy," Stephens said.
OU leadership, such as Stephens and OU Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Belinda Higgs Hyppolite, vocalized their desire for a more diverse and inclusive campus.
In an email to the OU Daily, Hyppolite wrote that the university is committed to supporting the needs and aspirations of students. OU executive officers and deans, she wrote, are dedicated to representing diverse voices and beliefs when making administrative decisions.
Drake said while OU does make an effort to uphold diversity and inclusion on campus, it's hard to see it at times. They said they feel that if campus leaders were more diverse, diversity and inclusion initiatives would be in practice more rather than just in theory.
"I love OU," Azzun said. "I really hope we get to the point where students aren't having to do all of the work and all of the yelling. I hope we get to the point where students don't have to be just a singular voice and I hope we get to the point where leadership can do that for us."
