All in Diversity
I believe in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). I am not calling for its end, or making an argument against its relevance. I respect the field, I have friends who are EDI leaders, and I have dedicated my career to advancing these principles in the study of archives, theatre and performance, media and advertising. It’s because I do this work that I know critiques like this one are desperately needed.
Senior administrative leadership has the most significant role to play in academic governance, but the data demonstrates that the very idea of academic governance is fundamentally set up to reproduce itself. Collegial governance, as the dominant university reward system, reinforces the diversity gap in senior administrative leadership.
In academia, the coded language of “collegiality” is part of the larger project of the new racism because it does not seek to create space for Black people, queer people, disabled people, and social-justice-minded White people to speak freely and openly but instead intentionally rewards “loyal” Black people, White women, and all those who fall under the umbrella of “going along to get along.”
