Bennie D. Williams ’11, MS ’13 had just begun his freshman year in 2007 when he received a taste of what it was going to be like as a minority student at Canisius University.
He recalls entering a class for his childhood education major. Looking around the room, Williams realized he was the lone student of color.
“It was definitely a culture shock,” says Williams, who arrived at 2001 Main Street by way of an Urban Leadership Learning Community (ULLC) Scholarship. “Here I was, a first-generation college student who graduated from Buffalo’s predominantly Black Bennett High School now attending the predominantly white Canisius University.”
Against this backdrop, Williams remembers how professors and the occasional classmate asked him to “provide the Black perspective.” He “struggled with having to speak on behalf of an entire population” and when he did, the “discomfort” felt thick enough to cut.
“It was isolating and I didn’t know what to do, where to go or who to speak with about what was happening,” says Williams, who is now assistant dean of students and director of the Multicultural Center. “Canisius wasn’t having intentional conversations about these types of situations back then.”
A lot has changed since Williams was a student.
AN AGENDA FOR ACTION
The spring 2022 semester marks the half-way point in Canisius’ five year Racial Equity Strategic Plan to build a more diverse, equitable and inclusive (DEI) living and learning environment.
It’s the latest step in a journey that began more than 50 years ago when Canisius students Robert H. Maloney ‘71 and LeRoi C. Johnson ’71 encouraged then President Rev. James M. Demske ’47, SJ, to further open the doors of the largely white institution that sat in the midst of a largely black neighborhood.
“But like most of American society, our journey hasn’t moved far enough or fast enough,” acknowledges President John J. Hurley.
The college hastened efforts in 2016, following a meeting between President Hurley and the Afro American Society.
“That was an eye opener for me,” President Hurley recalls. “I walked away with a sense of sadness and thought we were failing the students – for whom the opportunity to attend Canisius was the highlight of their lives – because they didn’t feel as if they were a critical part of this community.”
DEI has been a strategic priority at Canisius ever since. The development of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan is the college’s most deliberate effort, to date, to craft and implement a blueprint for a culture in which “we’re exploring our blind spots, our prejudices and addressing racism where it exists,” continues President Hurley. It is a plan designed to be sustainable and systemic, with ideals incorporated into the day-to-day life of the college – rather than a single program, lecture or magazine article.
“College campuses give us a window into the lives and experiences of other individuals,” says Fatima L. Rodriguez Johnson MS ’98. “So if we do this well, we will create a culture at Canisius in which students from all different areas with all different lived experiences can learn, can ask really important questions and can challenge their attitudes and perceptions of those different from them, thereby widening their world views. That’s what higher education is all about.”
Rodriguez Johnson is associate dean of diversity and inclusion at Canisius and the first person to hold this newly created position at the college. She is charged with ensuring that DEI practices are essential elements of a Canisius education. To do this, Rodriguez Johnson spent the initial months following her 2019 recruitment to the college analyzing and evaluating data from a pair of campus climate surveys conducted prior to her appointment.
“From all the different stakeholder groups surveyed, the same areas of concern kept resurfacing,” she remembers.
The feedback received called upon the college to address the homogeneity among the student, faculty and staff, the lack of diversity in the academic curriculum, and opportunities to improve social structures that build community, relationships and a sense of belonging.
These three areas of concern – among others - became the priorities for the Racial Equity Strategic Plan (see Priorities).
DIVERSITY MATTERS
Canisius looks a lot different today than some alumni will remember from years past.
This year’s incoming class hails from 25 states and six countries. Students of color represent 33 percent of the Class of 2025 – “making it the most ethnically diverse first-year class in college history,” states Danielle D. Ianni, PhD, vice president for enrollment management.
The transformation is emblematic of society at-large.
According to the Pew Research Center, America is more racially and ethnically diverse than ever. Moreover, data suggests that by 2055 no single race or ethnicity will have a majority in the United States.
The inevitability of a more diverse student population and thus, workforce, means that institutions of higher learning not only have a responsibility to prepare students for the world they will encounter but must lead the way via the diversification of their campus communities and the creation of a climate of support for such change. The very nature of Canisius being Catholic and Jesuit compels the college even further.
“Canisius is committed to standing in solidarity with - and advocating for – everyone, of all abilities, identities, life experiences and perspectives,” says Rodriguez Johnson. “This is consistent with the college’s mission and will help ensure that all Canisius students rise to their highest potentials.”
The thrust towards diversifying the student body starts with the applicant pool.
If colleges are to attract well-rounded, academically qualified students who represent a broad range of backgrounds, passions and personalities, then today’s admissions counselors must recruit where diversity thrives.
One of those places for Canisius is Buffalo Prep.
Founded by community leaders, Buffalo Prep works to close the educational equity gap by providing academic access and opportunity to underrepresented students and those from historically disadvantaged families.
“Our students are more than capable of thriving academically. They’re brilliant,” says Buffalo Prep’s director of college counseling, David Johnson. “We’re here to give them the added support they need to be able to get into and succeed in the high schools or higher education institutions of their choice.”
Canisius is in the second year of a first-of-its-kind partnership with Buffalo Prep.
The academic alliance aims to get high school students and their families “thinking strategically about the college admissions process” while “introducing them to the value of a Canisius education,” explains Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions Matt R. Kwiatkowski MBA ’16.
“Throughout the year, we’re inviting Buffalo Prep students to campus for programming related to admissions, financial aid, scholarship opportunities and career counseling,” adds Kwiatkowski, who developed the partnership with Johnson, his Buffalo Prep counterpart. “While they’re here, we show students all the reasons why Canisius is a premier option for them.”
Ridwhan T. Miah ’25 was one such student.
The son of first-generation immigrants from Bengali, Miah hardly considered Canisius an option at the onset of his college search. His sentiments changed with each campus visit.
“I never thought I would find my fit as a student of color at a primarily white institution like Canisius,” recalls the ULLC scholar and integrated marketing communications major. “But everyone I met during my college search made me feel comfortable that my experience being American and Bengali mattered and that I could contribute in meaningful ways to the campus community.”
Miah graduated from Nichols High School and was one of 12 Buffalo Prep students to enroll at Canisius during the pilot year of the partnership (a 264 percent increase over the previous three years). The enrollment team is already seeing a record number of applications from Buffalo Prep students for fall 2022.
“In order to build a more diverse campus we must first open doors to minority and underrepresented students,” says Ianni. “The partnership we’ve created with Buffalo Prep helps us do this and we’re using the same model to develop new partnerships in areas such as Rochester, Syracuse and New York City.”
ACADEMIC EQUITY
Increasing the number of racially and ethnically diverse students is an important first step. But a truly equitable and inclusive campus community must have opportunities for all students to learn and gain understandings of underrepresented groups or cultures.
“They need to be able to see themselves in the curriculum,” says Rodriguez Johnson. “What we teach at Canisius suggests as much about us as what we do not teach.”
Updates to the college’s core curriculum and, more specifically its diversity and global awareness attributes, stalled when the Covid-19 pandemic hit in March 2020. Still, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan is an assurance that the incorporation of broader perspectives across the academic curriculum remains a significant goal for the college.
Despite some obstacles, Canisius continues to make strides.
A recent audit of the academic curriculum found 22 course offerings related to race and ethnicity, “more than initially thought,” acknowledges Thomas A. Chambers, PhD, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, where the majority of those courses are taught. And though “it is important for the college to offer courses that think about race and ethnicity as a most basic intellectual underpinning, Canisius must make the whole greater than the sum of its parts.”
Chambers is referring to a proposal for a new major in race and ethnicity under consideration by the Academic Programming Board. The major would explore the ways in which both have historically evolved, their relationships to power and inequity, and how race and ethnicity intersect with other social groups including gender, class and culture.
The endorsement of such a program would address what Chambers calls “a growing demand by students” to further conversation in this important area. Moreover, a new major in race and ethnicity could help address the deficiencies in corporate settings, where matters of equity and inclusion are a growing priority.
A 2020 Jobs Trend report by Glassdoor indicates that the recruitment of DEI specialists will become an increasing priority in the coming years as employers seek to improve their corporate culture through the staffing of new and diverse employees.
“Today’s businesses need people who have cultural literacy beyond their own world,” Chambers says.
As work progresses around a race and ethnicity major, Canisius professors are finding innovative ways to introduce new coursework and initiatives that advance academic equity across campus.
Under the direction of Janet McNally, the All-College Honors program added a philosophy and second English writing requirement as a way to introduce new perspectives into the classroom. “We’re looking at the Honors curriculum in a holistic way,” explains McNally. “By adding these two new components, Honors professors can develop a more diverse reading list that offers different viewpoints to students.”
The Borders and Migrations Initiative (BMI) developed by Modern Languages Professor Richard Reitsma, PhD, provides an educational outlet for students interested in justice issues for immigrants and refugees. Immersion East Side engages students in field experiences throughout Buffalo so they become more attune to the cultural, political, economic and religious influences of the college’s neighbors. And the New Buffalo Institute (NBI) aligns Canisius research, service and academic programming with community organizations to respond to the city’s most acute needs.
“We’re a predominantly white institution located in a largely Hispanic and Black neighborhood so programs like these help build connections between Canisius students and the community,” comments Nafisa Shamim ’22, a criminal justice, political science and sociology major. “Being able to attend worship services at True Bethel Baptist Church or volunteer in the Fruit Belt – a neighborhood that’s endured so many hardships – is one of the best ways to learn about other people, where they come from and their traditions, and break down cultural barriers.”
SAFE PLACES & BRAVE SPACES
Heightened diversity and equity on college campuses bring with it improved cultural awareness and a more educated citizenry. Yet if not accompanied by inclusion, then a more racially and ethnically diverse community will remain excluded.
Inclusion on a college campus is the act of “welcoming, supporting, respecting and valuing all individuals and groups,” explains Williams. He notes, “You can have a very diverse institution but if the culture is not inclusive, if people don’t feel a sense of belonging, then it will never truly be a healthy learning environment able to provide a high-quality education to all.”
Williams returned to alma mater in 2020 to become custodian of inclusivity at
Canisius. His role is to harbor safe places and brave spaces – not just for racially and ethnically diverse students but also for geographically, religiously and gender diverse students.
“So many of my high school friends didn’t think Canisius would have a support structure for minority students, like myself, but I knew I found a home in the ALANA Student Center when I visited campus prior to my freshman year,” recalls Jasmine M. Thomas ’22, chair of the Student Senate Diversity Committee and biology major.
The ALANA Student Center provides African American, Latinx American, Asian American and Native American students with a physical reprieve – outside the classroom. “It’s a place where we can feel safe being and expressing our authentic selves because we’re with others who know what it’s like to come from a different culture or background,” Thomas adds.
Whether a multicultural student center or student clubrooms, modern day college campuses house an array of places for students to explore and express themselves without feeling marginalized.
To move the DEI needle, however, Canisius must also encourage students to leave their comfort zones and lean into some challenging conversations. In this respect, the Racial Equity Strategic Plans calls for the campus community to collaborate on extra-curricular programming that challenges perceptions, and encourages respectful and intelligent conversations, self-reflection, and action on racial, social and civil issues. “After all,” notes President Hurley, “a college education is all about the search for truth.”
Since the implementation of the plan, student clubs and college departments have offered more than 50 intersectional education events on campus. Each presented an “opportunity for individuals to listen, learn, unlearn and sometimes relearn,” says Williams.
“The Witness to Injustice Project” focused on the experiences of Indigenous and Native American communities. “LGBTQ+ 101” offered an introduction to gender identity and insight on how to be an effective ally to those who identify as such. “Microagressions are Not So Subtle” explored verbal, behavioral and environmental indignities.
“Being able to cross-collaborate enables us to be more creative with our programming,” adds Thomas. She points to “an increase in interactive educational events that attract wider audiences,” such as the Soul Food Dinner, the Latin American Student and Friends (LASAF) Carnival of Cultures and the Always Our Children Retreat, sponsored by the Unity club.
“Because our students are coming to us with so many different identities, different needs and different perspectives, we as an institution need to be able to effectively engage with them,” adds Williams.
BUILDING MOMENTUM
Solving generations-old struggles to embrace diversity, equity and inclusion can be a difficult journey but the rewards far outweigh the efforts – particularly in higher education.
Research shows that students who experience a sense of belonging are more motivated, and more engaged in the living and learning environment of the campus. Moreover, students who feel seen are more likely to use their voices to feel heard. In doing so, they challenge others to think in new and diverse ways. Ultimately, “higher levels of student success are achieved by all,” says Rodriguez Johnson.
But that’s not exactly how Bennie Williams measures success. For him, success comes in the form of a simple note from students like Nafisa Shamim, who says she “just wanted to say thank you.”
Shamim reached out to Williams following a campus-wide communication he sent during finals week last spring. Williams’ memo reminded the Canisius community that Muslim students were celebrating Ramadan and to be mindful of the religious traditions that accompany the Holy Month, which include fasting from sun up to sun down. “It was so incredibly special,” says Shamim, who adds it was the first time in her Canisius tenure that the college took an intentional and informative approach at generating awareness about her religion.
“Notes like that from Nafisa, that’s my energy,” says Williams. “That’s why I am in this line of work. That’s why I returned to Canisius. It’s what keeps me going every day.”
Racial Equity Strategic Plan Priorities (2019 – 2024)
- Community
- Cross Collaborative Educational Programs
- Curriculum & Academic Initiatives
- Intersectionality
- Recruitment & Retention
- Training and Skill Building
Click here to read the entire Racial Equity Strategic Plan.
