Building a better community Lee-Gonyea heads up diversity, equity, and inclusion at MSMC
T
his summer, longtime Criminology professor Jenifer LeeGonyea was named assistant vice president of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), as well as Chief Diversity Officer at the Mount. The college is excited to have LeeGonyea in these roles, where she will be working to meet important DEI objectives of the Mount’s Strategic Plan. She will also be responsible for deepening the college’s ongoing efforts to create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community. Below, Lee-Gonyea discusses DEI and its components, as well as how we can apply these concepts at the Mount to make it a better place for everyone.
Why is diversity, equity, and inclusion important? Diversity, equity, and inclusion are, in my view, ways to think about how our society can be the best version of itself. Diversity, equity, and inclusion is sometimes accompanied by the additional concepts of belonging and justice. Each of these are the external, outward acknowledgment that these values are important and an essential starting point for what we want in a society. These are an acknowledgement that we owe our members – in a society, in an organization, in an institution – the respect of being seen as a full person. To make things right, we must first acknowledge where we have fallen
12
Jenifer Lee-Gonyea is the Mount’s first Assistant Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Chief Diversity Officer.
short and where we continue to fall short. If we truly want to move closer to what is right, just, and best for society, we have to do the work that is demanded by DEI and be honest about the results. The benefits of DEI for society are far-ranging. It allows members of society to be fully engaged, it allows other members of society to get a
MOUNT SAINT MARY COLLEGE MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2022
fuller understanding of some of the challenges that exist, it can allow barriers to come down, and it allows people to perhaps see some of their own blind spots. Equity has real-life implications that extend beyond the individual. Providing equity extends beyond pay equity; it’s equity in how groups are represented in all levels of society.
