Crawford Addresses Diversity And Community On Campus

BY JACK REYERING
and MARIAH SCHLOSSMANN
Miami University journalism students

After his first three months on the job, new Miami University President Greg Crawford believes the university must expand its commitment to diversity on campus.

“Education at Miami will be enhanced if we have a diverse group of students, staff, and faculty,” Crawford said Wednesday a press conference hosted by Miami's Department of Media, Journalism & Film. “It allows everyone to have multiple perspectives and better understandings within community.”

At the recommendation of an EducationCounsel report commissioned by former President David Hodge, Crawford has been conducting a "listening tour" with different units on campus and in Oxford since he arrived July 1. An EducationCounsel team visited Miami in April, asking nearly 200 students, faculty and staff to share their experiences and ideas related to diversity and inclusion.

"Although Miami has made progress in recent years, we are committed to doing much more," Crawford said in an email to all faculty Sept. 20. "Moving forward, it’s vitally important that all be offered a voice, and there will be ample opportunity for everyone to be heard."

From his meetings so far, Crawford has taken away that students want and need a more diverse environment at Miami.

Diversity is broad

"I ask people, 'What kind of community do you want to build?’ ” Crawford said, “ ‘and how do you want to be a part of it and how can we solve some of these issues on campus?' "

Crawford said he has been passionate about diversity issues as a leader at other universities -- the University of Notre Dame was his academic home from 2008 to 2016, and he spent 12 years at Brown University before that -- and that enhancing diversity is among his highest goals for Miami. Diversity, he noted, can be defined through race, religion, culture, and economic status.

“Diversity in education is what’s really important,” said Crawford. “It enables us to learn different perspectives, build a stronger community, and also helps us to eliminate preconceptions and stereotypes.”

As Miami seeks to become more diverse, however, it faces plenty of competition from other universities, he noted. “There’s probably not another university in the country that’s not trying to do the same thing,” he said.

Researching student life issues

In addition to diversity, Crawford addressed student life issues, noting that he is calling on the Division of Student Affairs frequently to learn more about such topics. In response to a question about mental health on campus, he said the university needs more professionals to help with mental health issues.

"We are thinking about adding more positions to deal with the influx I know the health center gets,” he said. “I know there’s a long wait time to get an appointment and that’s something that will be addressed."

He noted that the Office of Student Wellness is in the final steps of hiring an Outreach and Education Coordinator for Sexual and Interpersonal Violence. The position will focus on sexual and interpersonal violence prevention and education.

He also mentioned that Miami will partner with Women Helping Women (WHW), a local rape crisis center. WHW has applied for a grant to hire a sexual assault advocate who would be available to students on campus.

Drinking and Greek life

Asked about student drinking, Crawford said he’ll be better equipped to address that topic after he’s become more familiar with campus culture.

"I want to learn as much as I can as fast as I can,” Crawford said. "I want to work to get the right culture in place. I know we have a lot more to do."

He shared the same sentiment about Miami's Greek system. Coming from a university without a Greek system, Crawford said he aims to meet with each Greek chapter at Miami this year to familiarize himself with the system here.

“I talked about leadership, student leadership, character, virtues and core values that you need to have as an organization,” Crawford said. “I think that we’re going to create a model system here, and we have a lot of work to do.”

Model community is goal

As he has in many of his talks and via his @PresGreg Twitter presence, Crawford cited the Miami Code of Love & Honor as a guiding document to create a "model community" on campus.

By looking at the people, the culture, and the community’s passions, Crawford hopes to build the kind of community that celebrates a liberal education, respects diverse views and values service learning. On the latter point, he said Wednesday, "It's all about leading a life of higher purpose."

"As a leader, my big challenge is to really walk the walk and talk the talk, and believe in what we do as our mission,” Crawford said. “We elect a higher purpose and doing what we do here at Miami is believing in love and honor."

Photo: President Greg Crawford meets with journalism students in Williams Hall Wednesday. -- Contributed photo