‘IT’S ON US’

Justin Mallett to part ways with NW for new inclusion job in Arizona

After six years of being at Northwest, Assistant Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion Justin Mallett is set to part ways with Northwest May 31 for a new position as Vice President of Inclusion, Diversity and Engagement at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Justin Mallett said while this was a tough decision to make, the position allows him to create an inclusion office from the ground up and serve on the president’s cabinet, and that was too big of an opportunity to turn down.

“It’s the hardest decision I ever had to make,” Justin Mallett said. “… I had to factor a lot of things in it. I had to factor my family in it. Because I have a son who was going to be a senior in high school. I had to factor the students here in Northwest and that was a huge component of it. And the community as well because we made a lot of strides in area diversity inclusion.”

Justin Mallett said the students are what he is going to miss most. He said he had a gathering to break the news to students.

“I told them, and that was the most emotional thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Justin Mallett said. “It was tough. That was very hard, but (I could) also see that they also supported that decision. And no one was angry, no one was mad, and they showed a level of gratitude that really helped ease it. But I’d say there’ve been some hard things I’ve faced in my life. That was the toughest.”

Not only will he miss the students, he said the staff and faculty at the University have shown him support and helped him grow within his positions at Northwest.

“I pride myself on everyday getting up, putting a smile on my face and making sure that I can have interactions with everybody on a daily basis,” Justin Mallett said. “… Without their belief in me and the support that they’ve also given through their departments, I don’t think I’d be in the running for this position.”

The faculty and staff are going to miss him too. Senior Coordinator of Diversity Jessie Peter said she has spent every day with him since she joined the University in May 2021, and that it will be different not seeing him around the office.