Tarleton’s Take on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
By: Kim Fisher
It’s National Hispanic Heritage Month and I noticed our client, Tarleton State University, published a press release announcing their new Spanish Language phone line. Tarleton is taking steps to better serve their Hispanic community – both prospective and current students - and make measurable progress that “aligns with the university commitment to create a welcoming environment for all students.” That’s a hefty goal for any institution so I was grateful for a quick interview with Dr. Javier Garza, Vice President for Enrollment Management to talk about their strategic plan and some of the tactics that will support that. Below is a recap of three things I learned.
1. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has a prominent place in their 10-year strategic plan. DEI is one of five main initiatives overall. They are executing a wide range of things including hiring a cabinet level VP of DEI (welcome to Dr. Sherri Benn) to coordinate initiatives and be deliberate about their success in this area and “demonstrating an intentional commitment to inclusive excellence.” This has a huge tie into Dr. Garza’s role as the VP of Enrollment Management. Everything about diversity and inclusive excellence for the student body starts in the Division of Enrollment Management that was started in 2017 when Dr. Garza assumed his Vice President role. The phone line started as Dr Garza’s idea and I love what he said in our interview. His thinking started with “how do we communicate in process and practice with spanish speaking students and their families that we want to have a conversation with them and we want to engage.” The goal is simple. To listen to students and families through this VIP line and connect them with people in the university that can help them. But what is important is what Dr. Garza emphasized. These are small things you weave into the culture of the university and that’s where real change begins. They are proud of their nickname, Texans, but in spanish, they are Tejanos. So they actually weaved that into the phone number itself 84-4Tejanos. It’s meaningful and a ‘culturally responsive service.’ This is just one way Tarleton State University is meeting people where they are.
2. When I asked Dr. Garza what advice he would give to peers that are increasing their focus on DEI, he started with the importance of data. We need to look at trends – where are we up in applications, where are we successful with yields, etc and then be intentional about what changes can increase success where we need it. With a background as a mathematician, it might not surprise you to learn that Dr. Garza is dissecting the data into demographics in a variety of ways that can inform the institution’s strategies. For example, he might need to increase the applications from African American and Hispanic students overall by increasing their understanding that college is an option for them and how they can benefit. And distinctly different, he may need to increase the yield of males, for example. That helps them “grow in the way our strategic plan aspires us to grow.” But, Dr. Garza shared what should be our concern, and therefore, our focus, in higher education. “There’s something that ought to break our hearts a little bit about a population that is less likely to apply, less likely to see the value of college or the affordability of college and so on, really just because of their culture or their background. The right thing is to try to level the playing field. To achieve equity in inputs and outcomes. You have to do these things to advance the cause.” In all these things, Tarleton State University is trying to optimize impact.
3. Finally, we just can’t miss talking about the fact that Tarleton State University has a 10-year Strategic Plan. I don’t normally see that in higher ed. Typically, it’s a 3 -5 year plan. I asked Dr. Garza what difference a 10-year plan makes and the benefits of that. Being enrollment focused, his answer was sharp and clear and I was paying close attention since our work at Allitix is helping people summarize past data and project future scenarios. He did not mince words. He thinks if anyone “is not doing a 10-year plan right now, they are missing the boat.” And his explanation for that makes such good sense. It’s the 2nd half of this decade that is going to be challenging in terms of the declining numbers of students entering college. Therefore, if you make plans for the next five years without an eye on the 2nd five years, that just doesn’t make sense. If you are just planning through 2025, he would recommend you really re-think that. “These first five years are preparing us for the next five.” I don’t think I’ve heard anyone say that so concretely but it strikes me as incredibly important for our industry to thrive in the coming decade.
I’d encourage you to listen to our entire interview as there are underlying details that are so informative. I love working with clients and am grateful for this opportunity to speak with Dr. Garza in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. Cheers to Tarleton State University. Go Tejanos!