How should diversity fit inside a university’s infrastructure? How should the diversity function be structured? Different models can lead to success. Here are some relevant considerations.

Diversity Roles and Responsibilities

The role and responsibility of advancing diversity in business schools takes a variety of forms. People who fulfill this mission hold a variety of titles. The structure and functions of diversity-related jobs also differ.

Increasingly, business schools are appointing directors of diversity—a full-time role solely devoted to this work. Other schools make advancing diversity a major part of the portfolio of an admissions officer or a professional in student services. At other schools, a faculty member holds the chief responsibility for diversity.

A director of diversity at a leading business school offered this summary of her role:

Another diversity officer sees his role as follows:

No matter the title or specified responsibilities, anyone who works in diversity should expect to also serve a broader role—that of consultant, educator, and even mentor.

• Consulting with colleagues: A large part of your role in diversity might be described as “consultant at large.” People across your school, and possibly across your institution, will want and need your expertise. A marketing director might ask you to help conceptualize an advertising campaign. Admissions staff might seek your input on a viewbook. Across campus, a program director might want to collaborate on a diversity seminar. These relationships often form the core of the partnerships you will develop with colleagues. While these may be outside or peripheral to your job description, you should take this work seriously, as it can pay dividends in unexpected ways.
• Educating colleagues: Whether it is formally part of your job description or not, one of your roles is to educate colleagues. This work can have many facets, from building sensitivity for diverse populations among staff, to helping senior administrators gain a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the richness of diversity. You may also want to make yourself available to speak to classes and to campus groups about diversity. Invest the time needed for this important work, and practice the art of tact to know what kinds of lessons are appropriate when.
• Mentoring: Again, whether it is in your job description or not, you will likely be asked to serve as a mentor in diversity. You might find yourself working to help a student, a colleague, or even someone at a higher pay level to develop his or her diversity skills and sensitivities. While this work can be challenging, it is important. Many of your peers find it highly satisfying as well.

Reporting Relationships

As business schools push to embrace diversity, some struggle about how to structure the diversity function. At many schools, this is still a work in progress. Perhaps the most important consideration is to ensure that diversity is not an afterthought, but is integrated into the core of the school. This is important for practical reasons—the closer diversity is to the core business, the easier it will be to accomplish diversity goals. At the same time, of course, showing diversity to be central to the school’s mission sends important symbolic messages. Similarly, it is important that diversity be integrated centrally into the student experience—in and out of the classroom.

Who do you report to? Some diversity officers report to a dean, others to a program officer. Generally, of course, the higher up the “food chain” you report to, the better it is for visibility, support, and access to necessary resources. Several diversity directors have been successful in gradually restructuring their roles so that they report higher up in the academic echelon. That raises diversity’s visibility, and makes it that much easier to get things done. But you can find champions for diversity across the university, no matter what their rank. Diversity professionals know that it takes creativity to fulfill goals regardless of reporting relationships.

Who reports to you? Relatively few diversity officers have direct reports under them. If you feel that you simply don’t have the human resources to get the job done, however—and you have exhausted channels that can draw on volunteers—it’s up to you to make the case for new staff. You may not get what you ask for, but you’ll never know unless you ask. Some diversity officers are able to leverage other offices in the university to help them accomplish the school’s diversity goals. Just ensure that everyone has “buy-in” prior to pursuing this option.

One colleague's perspective:

Finding Support

Often the diversity function is designed as an office of one—but can come with a set of responsibilities that no one person might ever hope to accomplish. One solution? Get creative about finding sets of hands who can help you get the job done.

Get support from the top
It’s up to your supervisor—and perhaps also to people even higher up—to underscore and support your role in diversity as an asset for the entire school. If necessary, find appropriate ways to encourage supervisors to deliver that message publicly—and often.

“Dotted line” connections are critical
Whether your relationships with colleagues in other offices are defined by official dotted lines or are less formal, it’s up to you to find ways to collaborate productively. Invest the time to get to know your colleagues—and learn what they hope to accomplish. Find the win-win strategies that will help advance your respective goals.

One colleague's perspective:

Get support from your peers
Seek out and bond with others in your school or on your campus who share your vision of enhancing diversity. Create an informal group to meet with regularly to share advice and support. Do the same, if possible, with colleagues at other institutions. Good venues in which to exchange ideas and best practices are multi-school events, school fairs, and/or conferences.

Tap your contacts
Be creative about enlisting others to help you do what you need to do. Go across campus or off campus to find people who believe in diversity and may be willing to volunteer their time, talent, or resources. Create student internships, or hire students by the hour. Ask faculty, staff, even administrators. Ask your colleagues across campus to help you identify likely helpers.

>> Next: Mapping a Diversity Strategy