Table of Contents
Spotlight on Rong Huang, Assistant Professor of Economics & Business
A Focus on Requity Labs at Saint Anselm College
Multicultural Student Coalition Family Reunion
Empathy Café – A Workshop on Understanding Different Perspectives and Cultivating Empathy
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A Word from Dr. Diaz
Greetings Anselmians! Despite the tumult of 2021 and the intensity if the “twin pandemics” (Covid and racial reckoning) the Hilltop community holds us together. In this issue of the bulletin we offer a bilingual “Spotlight” on Professor Rong Huang and how Saint A’s has become her home. We also feature the Requity Labs directed by Professor Loretta Brady. And the Multicultural Student Union did not let the pandemic stop their annual “Family Reunion” with the Multicultural Alumni Network. Also this spring 75+ employees took LGBTQ+ Awareness workshops to enable them to better support all members of our community. This issue also recaps Diversity & Inclusion Innovation Fund winners including the Empathy Café and ends with a preview of upcoming events. Lastly, the Office for Diversity & Inclusion sends best wishes are you finish the semester. Buena suerte (good luck) with finals one and all!
-- Dr. Ande Diaz
Spotlight on Rong Huang, Assistant Professor of Economics & Business
Q: Where’s home for you? | 你的家在哪儿？
That’s a very tricky question. I’ve been asked many times by people something like, “Where are you from?” and it’s very hard for me to answer because I’ve been moving around in the past 20-25 years, all around the world. I really regard here as my home. If you’re referring to where I was born, it is China. For me, home is where the heart feels comfortable and peaceful, and it’s here.
Q: What are some things you think Saint A’s is doing well in fostering a diverse and inclusive community? | 您认为Saint Anselm College在建立多元化和包容性社区方面做得如何？
I think we’re doing very well in terms of fostering this diverse community. I would say the overall atmosphere of this community made me feel at home. Again, that is referring to the concept of home, and I do not feel that I’m an outsider, I feel that I’m included in this community right away on the very first day that I was on campus. I feel that I am at home because of the people around me. I think that is a great prerequisite of an institution or company or community doing well in terms of diversity. Of course, we have a lot of programs such as diversity and racial justice programs, which I think in the past 1 or 2 years, these programs have been very active in promoting equality among people, reducing biases and prejudice. I think our Empathy Cafe, and of course the participation of our students, we are trying to contribute a little bit. I think we are doing great.
Q: What do you think we could do better to promote diversity and inclusion? | 您认为有什么可以改进的？
So far, I don’t have an answer. I think we’ve been trying all kinds of means in terms of what we can do. I know we have been trying very hard to recruit international students at the same time. So again, I think we are doing great.
Q: How can you personally help make Saint A’s more welcoming to everyone? | 从你的角度来看，你能够通过什么方式使得Saint Anselm College更具文化包容性？
One thing is about my teaching. I would say for all my courses such as International Marketing, Marketing Principles, Consumer Behavior (and in the future I’m going to teach Social Media Marketing and I taught Branding before) I always incorporated the concept of diversity, the concept of reduction of stereotyping into my teaching. That is also important as a great marketer, to have this empathetic view of people. In international marketing course, we spend a lot of time discussing culture and cultural differences. And we really dig into the concept of culture and the different dimensions of culture, how they influence people’s behavior and how they influence our marketing strategies. For my personal experience, I learn from my colleagues and I learn from my own students about diversity because they really bring a lot of new insights into, for instance into the classroom and my life. I do appreciate. I think I am the one who really benefits from our diversity program and this warm atmosphere here at Saint A’s.
A Focus on Requity Labs at Saint Anselm College
“As an intern at Requity Labs, I assist in various functions such as supporting communication, literature review, research, and managing lab operations. Over the past couple months, I have been managing the resilience and vicarious trauma project. Interning with Requity Labs has given me the opportunity to develop my professional and intellectual skills.”
-Lian Smithers ’21, Student Intern
In April 2020, the Psychology Department, led by creator Professor Loretta Brady ’99 launched Requity Labs, a dynamic resilience and social equity support resource that empowers workforces to create antiracist policies, foster equitable economic growth, and shape culture, arts, and game-based social interventions to support intra and intercultural growth.
The Lab hopes to be recognized as a program that is instrumental in the development of tomorrow’s Chief Diversity, Resilience, and Equity Officers. “We create agents for tomorrow’s demands.”
Professor Brady has organized community partnerships and collaborations into learning challenges and support opportunities where students and faculty can collaborate on projects. This academic year, students across several majors worked to support two interventions, one on youth positive identity development to support LGBTQ+ identity and another as part of a STEM education program. The projects fulfill a variety of inclusive education needs.
Requity Labs is a dynamic research center and consultancy established to translate social equity research into organizational practices and equitable community impacts.
●We produce events and curate resources that support resiliency, inclusion, and social equity.
●We convene groups to create solutions with vulnerable communities.
●We build curriculum that support holistic professional development for our community's most vital leaders
●We provide products and programs to support those recovering from adversity in its many forms.
Resilient and equitable community development results in stronger people, places, and policies that lead to shared success.
Recap of LGBTQ+ Workshop
This spring the college held four professional development workshops to support our LGBTQ+ community. Over 60 faculty and staff participated in a “Foundations of Awareness” workshop (100 level) in March and an additional 18 previously trained employees took an LGBTQ+ Awareness workshop as a “refresher” in April. These workshops provided information regarding evolving terms in the LGBTQ+ community, along with resources that may be helpful for themselves and their students. In addition, these 75+ employees will be invited to attend a “LGBTQ+ Allyship” workshop (200 level) on May 20. The May workshop is recommended for individuals who want to offer themselves as supportive allies and advocates in our community. The workshops are facilitated by Julia Golden (They/Them), Associate Dean of Students at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Science University. The workshops were developed by the Office for Diversity & Inclusion and Campus Ministry in partnership with Human Resources, Core Council, TEDA, and the Office of the Dean of the College.
Multicultural Student Coalition Family Reunion
On April 24 the Office for Diversity & Inclusion and the Alumni Relations Office worked in collaboration with the Multicultural Student Coalition to host the Family Reunion. Alumni and current students were invited to a virtual reunion to chat about life, what they miss about Saint A’s, and what everyone has been up to after graduation. It was a casual setting to meet current MSC members and catch up with alumni. A great conversation was had by all! Alumni from 2016 and on were in attendance, and imparted advice to upperclassmen and graduating seniors. We look forward to having more reunions in the future. Here is to the next one being in-person!
Empathy Café – A Workshop on Understanding Different Perspectives and Cultivating Empathy
Sponsored by the Diversity & Inclusion Innovation Fund, the Empathy Café was a series of free workshops held in March and April. The “Café” brought student participants together for interactive experiences to better understand the concept of empathy. On Zoom, participants interviewed each other in pairs about a typical day with classes, and created journey maps to learn about each other’s daily routines, level of activity, and high/low mood points. There was a great turnout from students of all classes and majors, and future workshops will tackle topics such as mental health stigma, racial justice, and green living.
Faculty fellows: Professors Kathleen Flannery, Rong Huang, and Dina Frutos-Bencze
Student fellows: Annelise Ciccone ’22, Gabrielle Dionne ’21, and Grace Wirein ’21
Did You Know?
Launched in the fall of 2017, the Diversity and Inclusion Innovation Fund has provided mini-grants ranging from $500-$2500 to stimulate entrepreneurial innovative initiatives that strengthen the Saint Anselm campus culture. Over 20 departments and campus organizations, and over 40 faculty, staff and student grantees have participated. Since its launching, the Innovation Fund has given out 37 grants to departments and organizations including:
- Academic Resource Center
- Athletics
- Chapel Art Center
- Conversatio
- Criminal Justice
- Economics & Business
- English; Gender Studies
- Fine Arts
- Geisel Library
- History
- Intercultural Center
- Modern Languages
- Meelia Center
- Nursing
- Philosophy
- Physics
- Psychology
- Sociology & Social Work
- Student Engagement & Leadership Programs
- Theology
FALL 2021 DIIF RECIPENTS TO BE ANNOUNCED IN MAY!
Looking Ahead
May 1
“Always Be My Maybe” Movie Showing – 8:00 P.M. – Alumni Quad
May 3
Taste of Asia – 11:00 A.M. – Student Center
*May 5
United Nations Interfaith Harmony (UNIH) - Interreligious Cosmic Common Good – 7:00 P.M. - Zoom
May 6
AAPI Student Panel – Event Space
July 12 - 16
Hilltop Academy Summer Bridge Program – Online
Summer/Early Fall
July 18 - August 6
Hilltop Academy Summer Bridge Program – On-Campus LLC
August 16 - 18
Transitions Program – On-Campus
