The Gatepost Editorial: Dear Vice President of Equity and Inclusion …

The Gatepost Editorial: Dear Vice President of Equity and Inclusion … 

By The Gatepost Editorial Board 

This summer, Jeffrey Coleman, vice president of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement, stepped down, leaving a hole in the University’s Executive Staff. 

Recently, the University posted the job - rebranded as Vice President of Equity and Inclusion. 

This role comes with a salary of more than $150,000, and the person hired will be a pivotal member of the president's inner circle during the last two years of the Trump administration. 

This person unmistakably will work to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion on campus, but The Gatepost Editorial Board questions why removing the word diversity in the job title was necessary. 

We know this administrator will be a champion of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion on campus, but it’s important that when selecting a candidate, University officials choose someone who represents our community and reflects our values. 

The Gatepost Editorial Board hopes the University’s new vice president will identify as a member of an underrepresented group. 

Framingham State is a lively community and has truly become a place where all cultures are welcome and represented. Having an underrepresented voice in the University’s senior administration working in the field of advocacy for those very same voices will only support the mission of fostering an education open to everyone. 

The University also needs someone outspoken in their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion - not in the sense that they are simply on a soapbox, but someone who stands with and advocates for students. 

The next vice president should be open to attending and hosting events on campus, engaging in discourse, and, when necessary, defending our community. 

While the upper floor of Dwight Hall might be comfortable, no one besides other administrators is up there. Students are everywhere on campus - the new vice president should meet them where they are. We hope the new vice president will not let a cushy office serve as a barrier to connecting with them. 

The new vice president should be intentional in their actions on and off campus. They should amplify and uplift the values and needs of our students. 

In the past, Framingham State’s vice president of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement has embodied what it means to be a good ally, community member, and advocate for students. 

Jeffrey Coleman championed many initiatives flourishing today, including overseeing the management of the University’s Center for Inclusive Excellence, along with supporting a mural honoring the Indigenous peoples who once inhabited the land Framingham State now occupies. He also led the charge to develop a University-wide land acknowledgment. 

We, The Gatepost Editorial Board, are grateful for Coleman’s commitment to the University and wish him well in his future endeavors. We hope that our next vice president will follow in Coleman’s footsteps and share his passion for ensuring FSU is an inclusive space. 

Another champion was Millie Gonzalez, the former dean of the Henry Whittemore Library, who served as Chief Diversity Officer prior to Coleman. 

As part of her work, the University hosted educational series about different cultures - a tradition that continues today and should be upheld for years to come.  

Gonzalez also created open educational resources through the Whittemore Library, ensuring education was accessible to anyone. 

The University and the next vice president have a blueprint for how FSU operates in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In the future, these programs should be expanded - we have so many communities represented on campus. It is imperative that their voices at least be offered a platform through which they can speak. This must remain a goal of the University. 

The next vice president should follow in Coleman’s and Gonzalez’s footsteps by supporting open and accessible education and promoting cultural competency across campus. 

The new vice president should - above all - listen to the community before they act. Promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion starts with active communication. Working together, hearing others, and challenging ideas will be essential to discourse for our community. 

There are so many voices at FSU, each one of whom deserves a seat at the table. 

They are counting on the next vice president to pull out a chair.