Senior Staff Searches

As a follow-up to my Nov. 27 update on the search for an Associate Vice President/Senior Diversity Officer, I’m pleased to provide additional details on next week’s Open Forums with our three finalists.

The Open Forum sessions for the AVP/SDO candidates will take place on Dec. 4, Dec. 6, and Dec. 8 from 3 - 4 p.m. in Galileo 202. Each event will include a presentation from the finalist as well as a Q&A period. All members of the Saint Mary’s community are invited and encouraged to actively participate in the Open Forums.

The finalists will speak on the topic of “Leadership in Times of Change” and have been asked to address how they would lead the institution through periods of significant change, particularly in regard to diversity and inclusion. They have also been asked to provide examples of how they would maintain the Lasallian ethos during these times.

You can find more information on the candidates here:

• Candidate #1 CV and feedback form 
• Candidate #2 CV and feedback form 
• Candidate #3 CV and feedback form  

For those unable to attend in person, following are the Zoom registration links for the Open Forums. Please remember to register in advance! After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

• Dec. 4 (3-4 p.m.)
• Dec. 6 (3-4 p.m.)
• Dec. 8 (3-4 p.m.)

Again, I’d like to offer my personal thanks to our committed search committee, Provost Corey Cook, Interim President Brother Thomas Jones, and executive search firm Greenwood Asher and Associates for their efforts and contributions to the search.

Additional information about the position and search can be found on the President’s website. As always, please email me at dei@stmarys-ca.edu if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions. I look forward to your participation in the upcoming Open Forums!

Sincerely,

María Luisa Ruiz, Ph.D. [she/her(s); yo,ella(s)]

Senior Diversity Officer, Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies (SaLAS)

From Search Committee Chair María Luisa Ruiz, Senior Diversity Officer (Interim):

I’m pleased to provide the following update on the search for Saint Mary’s Associate Vice President/Senior Diversity Officer.

Zoom interviews were held with a number of qualified candidates. Three finalists were selected and have been invited to take part in on-campus Open Forums the week of December 4 (next week!). 

The Open Forum sessions will take place on Dec. 4, Dec. 6, and Dec. 8 from 3 - 4 p.m. in Galileo 202. Each event will include a presentation from the finalist as well as a Q&A period. Zoom links will soon be provided via a “reminder” email and will also be posted to MySMC. All members of the Saint Mary’s community are invited and encouraged to actively participate in the Open Forums.

I’d like to offer my personal thanks to our committed search committee, Provost Corey Cook, Interim President Brother Thomas Jones, and executive search firm Greenwood Asher and Associates for their efforts and contributions to the search.

As always, please email me at dei@stmarys-ca.edu if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions.

Sincerely,

María Luisa Ruiz, Ph.D. [she/her(s); yo,ella(s)]

Senior Diversity Officer, Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies (SaLAS)

From Search Committee Chair María Luisa Ruiz, Senior Diversity Officer (Interim):

The Search Committee has met with Greenwood, Asher, and Associates (GAA) on multiple occasions. We have been working diligently to establish a process by which we can identify a DEI practitioner to lead our community through a  lasting and significant transformation, one who will provide strategic leadership in the college’s efforts to create a climate that prioritizes and promotes inclusion, diversity, equity, and belonging. With the support and expertise of GAA, we are committed to a search process that finds the best and right candidate for the position.

Regular updates about the search will be sent via email and also posted here on the Office of the President website.

I’d like to thank Dr. Robin Dunn (SOLA Faculty Representative) and Dr. Jyoti Bachati (SEBA Faculty Representative)  who served on the committee and are now on sabbatical.

Over a series of listening sessions last spring semester with members of the Saint Mary’s community, the committee and GAA received input about key priorities, expectations, and vision for this role. Participants in the sessions identified a series of themes and a broad array of responsibilities,  capacities, and resources necessary for a candidate to be successful, especially in this period of transition and change. The listening sessions last spring helped shape the draft of the job description and really highlighted the need for the college to ensure that our current and future SDOs have the capacities and resources to advance an equity frame for Saint Mary’s College. 

As the job description highlights, this Senior Staff position reports directly to the President, in partnership with the entire senior leadership team, especially the Provost, Academic Affairs leadership, Vice President for Mission, Human Resources, Student Life, and the Office of Institutional Research. The AVP/SDO and their Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, will lead Saint Mary’s to create a culture of continuous improvement and accountability by planning and assessing DEI initiatives across the college, aligned with the institutional strategic plan, Transformation 2028.

Please email me if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions dei@stmarys-ca.edu.

Sincerely,

María Luisa Ruiz, Ph.D. [she/her(s); yo,ella(s)]

Senior Diversity Officer, Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies (SaLAS)

Institutional Goals for the AVP/SDO and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Saint Mary’s: 

The AVP/SDO is responsible for and is empowered to lead, advance, and ensure that accountability for DEI efforts is integrated throughout the entire institution. The AVP/SDO is not responsible alone for DEI. Still, they are expected to identify ways to accomplish the work of the institution, using measurable and realistic metrics of assessment to establish benchmarks, demonstrate progress, measure outcomes, and evaluate institutional change.

● Improve the recruitment, retention, and advancement of students, faculty, and staff from underrepresented communities;

● Advocate for allyship and provide education and training for campuswide allyship;

● Lead with a justice-driven approach;

● Create a culture of visibility for this position and for all DEI efforts;

● Help Saint Mary’s live up to its commitment to ’’respect all persons’’ and be an inclusive community’’ that is a model for other communities within the Bay Area and beyond;

● Be a strategic thinker and utilize the climate survey to build and implement a 5-year strategic plan for diversity, equity, and inclusion for Saint Mary’s;

● Work towards improving accessibility for all groups as it relates to on-campus facilities.

Committee chair:

• María Luisa Ruiz, Senior Diversity Officer (interim)

Members:

• Ameera Ibrahim, SEBA Faculty Representative
• Rebecca Anguiano, KSOE Faculty Representative
• Jose Feito, SOS Faculty Representative
• Sunayani Bhattacharya, SOLA Faculty Representative
• Courtney Gordon, Sr. Admin Assistant,  KSOE
• Carrie  Davis, Director, Mission and Ministry
• Aeleah Soine, Vice Provost for Student Success
• James Scuito, Vice President for Student Life
• Jennifer Pigza, Director, CILSA, CCIE chair (interim)
• Kalilah Epperson-Lee ASSMC Student Representative
• Karin Hein, Staff & HR Support (non-voting)