Developing responsible global citizens

EOU established the Office of Student Diversity and Inclusion (SDI) in 2018, expanding the role of the Multicultural Center. Bennie Moses-Mesubed, ’99 and ’13, has built up the department’s educational and support services.

She explained that advocating and providing resources for students who are marginalized because of their gender identity, sexual orientation or ethnicity is only half of her job. The department also organizes events and discussions that equip white students with a more complete understanding of inclusion, equity and diversity. Moses-Mesubed said she hopes all EOU students gain a truly global perspective at EOU, and then apply it in academics and as active community members.

“We are just as accountable for providing education about privilege and white fragility for our white students, as we are for providing validation and support for students of color who experience microaggressions,” she said. 

Moses-Mesubed and her staff talk to white students about race as a construct, but add that white people have been excluded in conversations about racism. 

“Our culture has conditioned them to think that race and racism is not about them,” she said, pointing out how difficult it is for students to name a white person who walked with MLK. “Jim Zwerg, a white Freedom Rider, and others have historically been excluded in white conversations about the racial justice movement. This results in young white people not having role models or seeing how diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) impact them.” 

EOU’s student population is 70% white, nearly half of last year’s freshman class came from low-income homes, and about a third were first-generation college students. Part of EOU’s rural mission means walking alongside students who are just beginning to understand concepts like diversity, equity and inclusion.

“Wherever students are in understanding DEI, we want to be there for them as a resource,” she said. “It’s OK to make mistakes, it’s OK to fumble, and we will pick each other up and figure out where to go from there. The key is to not be discouraged.”

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The benefits of difference

“Being different is not bad,” EOU business professor Michael Fields said. “When we understand each other better, we work together better, learn together better and create a better society for people to work and succeed in.” 

Fields’ research explores intercultural competence: a set of skills, knowledge and abilities to communicate and interact with people who are different from one another in a positive and productive manner. He found that the value of intercultural competence and its impact aren’t widely known. 

Fields chairs EOU’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. He said part of the committee’s work involves compliance with House Bill 2864 from the Oregon Legislature, which requires that all public universities work to improve intercultural competence.

He furthered his research by inviting five international graduate students to attend his undergraduate classes for weekly mentoring sessions. The experience marginally improved students’ competency, and the graduate students showed even more improvement. Fields found that high-contact, positive experiences with people who are different from one another influence intercultural competence. 

As a business faculty member, Fields said intercultural competency is key for future managers, leaders, employees, neighbors and participants in the global economy. 

“One of the aspects of intercultural competence is communication, which is something we do daily as humans, as faculty members, as parents, as community members, as coaches and more,” he said. “We are often speaking to people who have different views than us, and intercultural competence prepares people for that.”

View Fields’ Colloquium talk here: youtube.com/watch?v=s5hWunRWI5A&list=PLWxbQgzHSp8oFadEaLRwrxlHb0QslY49w&index=4.