The final Chief Diversity Officer candidate to speak on campus addressed students on Wednesday, touching on his goals for the University and his ideas on improving campus diversity.

This candidate, who serves as CDO and associate provost at a similar university, was the fourth finalist in consideration to visit campus. The University has held open forums for each of the four candidates and is gathering student feedback on each. To protect the candidate’s current employment and respect the integrity of the search process, the Justice is not publishing the candidate’s name or identifying information.

The candidate opened by discussing his prior experience working on diversity issues on college campuses and his personal connection to these problems. As someone who identifies as part of the LGBTQ community and whose family is originally from Peru, he noted that issues related to diversity are very important and personal to him. He added that he began his career focusing on public policy issues before realizing he wanted to focus on diversity, specifically in higher education. “Higher education is one of the best places to think about creating a more just society,” he said. After working for many years as deputy chief diversity officer at a larger university, he now works as the CDO at a nearby university.

While he stated that he is happy with his current job, he told students that he thinks that Brandeis is a place where much more needs to be done to make the campus more inclusive and diverse. After following the Ford Hall movement last year, he is curious to know how students feel in the aftermath and whether they feel their needs are being met, he said.

The candidate also said that the numbers in the campus climate survey from last year were “very troubling” to him, as they indicated students of color were having many uncomfortable experiences on campus. He stated that in times of trouble, students need the administration to reach out to them, not push them away. He added that he believes he inherently has the inclination to reach out to students in need and can bring this quality to the University.

When asked about what his main priorities as CDO would be, he said his first priority is to get to know the students and fully understand their concerns and needs. He said he wants to address the problems related to microaggressions on campus and make sure that staff and international students are two groups who also feel welcome and included on campus, as these groups can often get overlooked. He also touched on the importance of changing the curriculum and diversifying syllabi so all students feel welcome and included in the classroom. He noted that while the process of changing the curriculum can take years to fully implement, it can be done, and the culture of what becomes expected in a classroom will shift.

Finally, he mentioned that he will seek to increase transparency around diversity efforts and data collection on campus, continue the diversity training programs that are being conducted and promote relationship building on campus. The candidate said that while he admires the work students at Brandeis have done to create change, “diversity work should not largely be undertaken by students.” His goal is to take on this position and be “receptive to whatever comes forward.” This, he stated, comes first from understanding students and what they need, then creating structures, policies and systems that address these needs as deeply as possible.