Better together: strengthening our team and workplace
A culture of ‘inclusive excellence’ delivers results rooted in diversity and united by a shared organizational vision
By Eric Perreault
Vice President for Research
Dear Office for Research colleagues,
Welcome to the OR DEI Pulse, the inaugural DEI Newsletter from our DEI Council. I want to thank the Council for suggesting this new means of communication and for bringing it to fruition. I would also like to thank them for inviting me to share a message.
As you know, efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion are under attack in parts of our country, including many institutions for higher education. This is not the case in Northwestern’s Office for Research (OR), where we remain committed to creating a community of inclusive excellence grounded in our OR values – values I have experienced as you welcomed me to the office last fall and values I have strived to uphold. The OR values have, and will continue, to serve us well as we support and grow Northwestern’s research enterprise.
While our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is unwavering, recent changes have provided an opportunity to assess how to best support our OR values. Most notable is the departure of Aisha Ghori Ozaki, our former DEI director. As she often said, DEI is everyone’s business. I believe that, too. Empowering everyone to contribute can foster an inclusive environment where more voices are heard and valued. Aisha created a foundation upon which we can build future success, leaving us in a very different place from when she arrived. Her departure gave us the opportunity to assess how to continue moving forward most effectively. I conducted this assessment over the last several months through meetings with our DEI Council, senior members of my team, and leaders outside of OR, including several with deep expertise in this area. Based on their input, I concluded that we will be served best by a stronger DEI Council connected to our members and a stronger partnership with the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion (OIDI). OIDI brings deep domain and institutional expertise and has committed to partnering with us.
By empowering the Council to take on a more significant role, we model a team-oriented approach that exemplifies collaboration and shared responsibility. This approach incorporates current practices from the DEI literature to support strategic and operational activities. It enhances our DEI efforts and reinforces that DEI is a collective mission integral to our organizational culture and success.
The Council, chaired by Cassidi Hunkler, instructional designer in our Research Training unit, has been meeting regularly since the spring. The team’s current projects include this quarterly newsletter, engagement with our remote work pilot, and developing DEI training, programming, and resources. Our 2023 DEI Climate Survey informs these efforts, including concerns about perceived discrimination and trust in resolution processes to address that discrimination. You will be hearing more from the Council in the weeks ahead.
As we begin this new phase, I encourage you to connect with our DEI Council to discuss ideas for strengthening our community or any challenges that may arise. They are prepared to assist or connect you with someone who can help.
How we continue the essential work of strengthening our community is changing, but I am confident that this new approach will meet our current needs and provide opportunities for innovation and enhancement. I look forward to continuing this journey with you.