You would think that a background in arts administration would be the most important factor here, but no.
Campus Reform reports:
College hires ‘faculty activist’ as its new presidentRhode Island’s School of Design (RISD) has hired a self-described “faculty activist” as the school’s incoming President.Crystal Williams, who will be the Providence school’s first Black president, recently signed a five-year contract with the school that begins April 2022.In a Dec. 28 interview with The Boston Globe, Williams spoke about herself as an “activist” at Reed College, where she served as the school’s first Dean for Institutional Diversity.Williams first earned her reputation as a “faculty activist” during her 13-year stint at Reed College, according to the scholar’s biography, where she pushed initiatives promoting diversity, equity, and inclusivity.Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has become a high-spending expense universities have been caving to carve into their yearly budgets. As Campus Reform reported last year, the DEI consulting industry amassed $230,000 in trainings at 12 public universities over the last 20 years.In 2017, Williams became the associate provost for diversity and inclusion at Boston University. In this capacity, as Williams notes in her Globe interview, she spearheaded initiatives such as the Inclusive Pedagogy Initiative, the LGBTQIA+ Task Force, and the BU Collective Day of Engagement, an anti-racist program.Williams also had a hand in establishing a variety of community networks on campus aimed at fostering a “culture for individuals engaged with issues related to diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and full participation within the BU community.”She later transitioned to Bates College as an Associate Vice President for Strategic Initiatives, professor, and Senior Advisor to the President.
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