By Eavan O’Neill
This January, St. Lawrence welcomed Kimberly Flint-Hamilton as the Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion. This is the first position of its kind at St. Lawrence, created by the President’s Commission on Diversity. For the lat 17 years, Dr. Flint-Hamilton has worked as Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, where she served on the university’s Diversity Inclusion Task Force. Here at St. Lawrence, Dr. Flint-Hamilton will work with both academics and student life to, according to Karl Shonberg, “ensure that our values of inclusivity, support, and celebration of every member of our community are fully realized in all aspects of the University’s life.” Read on to PAGE 10 for an in-depth conversation with Dr. Flint-Hamilton about her vision for SLU’s diverse and inclusive future.
The Hill News: Tell us a bit about yourself and your past.
Dr. Flint-Hamilton: I was born in Chicago and grew up there before deciding to attend the University of Notre Dame, where I majored in biology and classical studies.
I went on to get my PhD in classical studies, and became an archaeologist. I then went back to UND and worked as an assistant dean, and helped with students who were experiencing academic challenges such as developing good study skills and applying to scholarships and fellowships. egislature instead.
After eight years at UND, I decided to take a faculty position at Stetson University in Florida in the Sociology and Anthropology Department. I was there for 17 years, and throughout my career I realized I had a passion for diversity and inclusion issues.
For years I’ve been digging deeper into that area of work. I decided I wanted to focus on chief diversity officer work, and fortunately I was lucky enough to find a position here at SLU.
THN: What influence do you see this position having on the SLU campus?
Dr. Flint-Hamilton: My main hope is that the various constituencies around campus (faculty, staff, students, etc.) will see my office as a place to come together to share ideas, values, opinions, and beliefs in order to make SLU a more diverse and inclusive environment. I want my office to be a safe haven for cultivating a community of inclusion.
I’ve been here for less than two months, and I’ve already talked to numerous people about some of the positive changes that can be made here.
One of the many changes that I think is important are the creation of gender-neutral bathrooms. It is an extremely important issue, and can be done very easily.
Mainly, I hope my office can be an environment for creativity and an inclusive and welcoming place to spread awareness of diversity issues on campus.
THN: What are your goals?
Dr. Flint-Hamilton: One of the things that I did before I came here, and I have been doing since I got here, is taking a close look at the Presidential Commission on Diversity report. It is a 52-page report unveiled in February 2014. A task force was named by President Fox, with a wide variety of people involved. The group spent a year doing a self-study of what SLU looks like “now” (in 2014) and what some of the needs were in terms of diversity and inclusion. President Fox and the group came up with a report that made 69 recommendations on how to make SLU a more diverse and inclusive campus.
So, my main goal is to learn more about the community. As the head of SLU’s Diversity Committee, it is also one of my main goals to address the 69 recommendations and make a strategic diversity map that marks out what exactly we are going to do to create a more welcoming campus environment.
THN: How has it been adjusting to SLU, and how do you view SLU students so far?
Dr. Flint-Hamilton: So far, it’s been remarkable. The snow, and the seasons, is beautiful here. Being in Florida for 17 years, I’ve missed the lilacs and crab apple trees that grow in the spring in the east.
I am looking forward to the spring and interacting with more students and faculty, and I hope to have more programming and more student involvement.
In my opinion, we exist for the students. I love the students so far; they are smart, kind, thoughtful, and many students seem to have a passion for social justice. I hope to be a resource and a piece of the social justice movement on campus.