REFLECTIONS: A Director's Message 

Angela Locks, Ph.D.
Executive Director for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Academic Affairs 
Last Updated: July 3, 2023 

In the past year, I have shared with colleagues at CSULB that I believe “the work” to achieve racial equity from a justice-orientation and intersectional approach requires us, both individually and collectively, to:

• Reimagine and expand who has power on campus by reenvisioning structures to be their most inclusive
• Leverage existing gifts, skills, and talents of all campus community members
• Provide pathways for mindset expansion and professional development among employees
• Expand seats at the table to include voices outside of shared governance structures, including voices external to the campus

During the last week of June 2023, I had the honor of attending the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU) Institute on Truth Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) alongside the CSULB TRHT Core Team and hundreds of other equity-minded colleagues committed to the enacting the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s TRHT Framework with the guidance and leadership of the Diversity Equity and Student Success (DESS) team at AACU. In reflecting on my time at this year’s AACU TRHT Institute, I am asking myself more broadly who at CSULB possesses the mindsets, expertise, talents, and skills to advance “the work” of racial equity? I hope you, too, can consider and reflect on the following questions:

• What are the foundational equity-oriented mindsets necessary to engage in "the work"?
• What is the expertise necessary to engage in "the work"?
• What are the core talents needed to authentically engage in "the work" with integrity and justice at the center?
• What are the skills necessary to establish goals, reach milestones, and measure "the work" and associated outcomes?