2 New Staff Members Selected for Office of Diversity and Inclusion Administrative Fellowship

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) has selected Diane Crawford and Qingyi Yu as the recipients of this year’s ODI Administrative and Research Fellowships, respectively. Earlier this year, ODI invited staff members to apply for the administrative fellowship as part of its commitment to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility on campus, while also supporting leadership and professional development for University employees.

Crawford, executive director of institutional culture at the Whitman School of Management, and Yu, health and wellness research director at the Barnes Center at The Arch, will each conduct projects to advance the priorities outlined in the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) Strategic Plan.

“The fellowships offered by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion provide a unique opportunity for staff members to advance a diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility project that may fall outside of their primary role,” says Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Mary Grace Almandrez. “The professional development for supervisors and student research projects that will be led by our fellows this year will assist us in our efforts to ensure every campus member feels a sense of inclusion and  belonging at the University.”

Crawford plans to develop a course that will empower supervisors to foster a culture and climate of authentic inclusion, where every team member is valued, developed and included. “This embodies what ‘Leading with Excellence’ looks and feels like. Campus members who have direct reports are encouraged to participate,” says Crawford.

This fellowship provides Crawford an opportunity to develop leadership discovery learning tools, which are practical skills that campus leaders can leverage to drive inclusivity in their respective areas of focus. “As the landscape of the workforce continues to diversify and evolve, it is crucial for leaders to understand and practice ways to make their team members feel that they are valuable contributors,” she says.

“The goal is to equip our leaders with the necessary tools to enhance their leadership capacity in regard to inclusivity, thereby building stronger, dynamic teams that further establishes Syracuse University as an exceptional workplace,” says Crawford.

Yu plans to conduct focus groups among multiple marginalized identity student groups on topics of belonging and inclusion in different contexts, such as social belonging and academic belonging. This fellowship allows Yu to combine her passion for health and wellness research and assessment while focusing on enhancing DEIA.

“As the leader of the Barnes Center Health and Wellness Research Consortium, I aim to foster cross-campus collaborations and use data to identify predictive and protective factors for student wellness and thriving,” says Yu. “A key goal of my assessments is to better understand how inclusion and belonging impacts student success and thriving. I see the ODI fellowship as a valuable opportunity to expand the reach of DEIA assessment and research, support data-driven strategic planning and serve a diverse student population at the University.”

Through the fellowship, Yu aims to capture unique narratives and perspectives to guide the creation of an inclusive, equitable and supportive environment for all students. “The focus groups’ data collected will identify key aspects of belonging and existing resources that enhance the sense of community,” she says. “The project seeks to gain a comprehensive understanding of students with marginalized identities, identify successful resources that promote a sense of belonging, propose interventions to enhance this sense of inclusion, and provide data-driven recommendations for strategic planning.”