After an extended hiatus, the College’s Office of Institutional Diversity has reopened under the guidance of a new leader and an entirely new staff.
Dr. John Bello-Ogunu Sr. started Jan. 4 in his new position as Associate Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer of the Office of Institutional Diversity. Bello-Ogunu comes to the College from Wichita State University, where he held senior leadership positions and was a professor of communication. He has held similar positions at Auburn University and Oakland University.
Bello-Ogunu said he did not know the status of the OID before he applied, and he saw the opportunity to use his experience and training to help the College.
As a native of Nigeria who has spent time in Europe, Bello-Ogunu said he considers his “global perspective” an asset.
“My ultimate goal is to be able to assist our faculty in preparing our students who graduate from the College of Charleston into well-rounded citizens who can function effectively, productively and successfully in integrated and independent global cultures,” Bello-Ogunu said.
He said he is starting at “ground zero” and has plans to reshape and redirect the office he inherited.
“I want our office to serve as a positive catalyst for promoting an all-inclusive diversity here at the College of Charleston,” Bello-Ogunu said.
While Bello-Ogunu has many goals, he said that his strategic directions are based primarily on the diversity strategy outlined in the College’s newly approved strategic plan.
In addition to the College’s plan, he said he intends to lay out a diversity strategic plan in the next few weeks with the help of several College representatives.
Bello-Ogunu said the first goal for the OID is to create and sustain an all-inclusive and diverse campus climate. Bello-Ogunu said he hopes to create an environment that is “inviting, welcoming, supportive and nurturing for all members of the College of Charleston community.”
He also said he hopes a multicultural campus community will help the College as a whole reach its goals and thrive.
“We can begin to see and appreciate diversity as a tool for achieving institutional excellence,” said Bello-Ogunu.
Their next goal is to improve the recruitment and retention of groups that are traditionally under-represented on campus.
Bello-Ogunu said he wants to increase the number of black students on campus and implement retention programs and services.
Bello-Ogunu also said he will work with departments to bring more faculty to the College from under-represented groups.
“[I want] to create supportive work environments to encourage them to stay and contribute to the success of the College of Charleston,” Bello-Ogunu said.
Not only does he want to diversify the student body and the staff and faculty, but Bello-Ogunu said he also wants to integrate diversity into the academic curriculum and co-curriculum.
This includes incorporating the ideas of diversity into the existing curriculum and offering classes that address it more directly, as well as integrating diversity into general education requirements.
“I want to create experiential opportunities for students to put diversity theory into practice,” said Bello-Ogunu.
Bello-Ogunu said he believes that the College should be more integrated with the surrounding community. He said he plans on building “healthy bridges” between the College community and the external community.
“If we have a positive relationship with the larger community,” Bello-Ogunu said, “we are most likely going to have strong partners in them to make life more productive and successful for us all.”
Bello-Ogunu said the goals of the College cannot be executed just by his office, or even by a group of people. He said without the support of every member of the College community, the change would not be successful.
“Every person has an ethical and moral responsibility to help make the world a better place … in every dorm, every office and every classroom,” Bello-Ogunu said.