Chapter 2: To Inform, Educate, and Change the World: Reflections and Recommendations

The opening quote, in bold italicized text, ends my email signature, explaining why I do the work that I do, hopefully encourages other faculty and students to engage in scholarship that informs, educates, and more. Manning Marable (1950-2011) was an influential race scholar whose scholarship continues to do more than inform and educate. I encourage readers to investigate Marable’s work.

At the time of this writing, I am the associate dean of diversity, racial equity, and inclusion in the College of Business at the University of Texas at Arlington, at a majority minority Research I university in a large metropolitan area. Given my decades of doing this work, my dean asked me to help move the college forward after the murder of George Floyd, in a time where many institutions were openly trying to do better. Although we are of course attuned to equity in other areas, I requested the title “racial equity,” which honors the impetus for and timing of this role. When I earned my PhD at UT-Arlington in 1996, students were predominantly White, but as with many urban universities, the demographics were rapidly changing as increasing numbers of Black and Latino students were enrolling. When I was hired as a tenure-track faculty member, I was the only woman and Black person in such a role, among 13 or 14 tenured or tenure-track (TTT) White and Asian (1) men in the department. At present, women comprise nearly half the TTT department, and three are Black women. A Black man will soon join our rich, diverse core group. When nontenure-track faculty and doctoral students are included, we are even more diverse.