Shawnboda D. Mead, director for the new Center for Inclusion and Cross Cultural Engagement at the university, wants to expand the definition of diversity to the students at Ole Miss.
“My goal is not to change people’s value systems,” Mead said. “My goal is to increase awareness and to create a more welcoming and inclusive environment for all students.”
Mead is a graduate from Mississippi State with a degreein educational psychology. She then went to Western Kentucky as a graduate student, where she got a master’s degree in student affairs higher education. From there she has worked at many schools in the South, including Texas A&M, Southern Mississippi and the University of Tennessee.
She grew up in a small town near Hattiesburg called Prentiss, Mississippi, which according to Mead, currently has no stoplight. Mead attended Prentiss High School, where she experienced a very black and white world. She never had the chance to connect and learn about other types of diversity until she went to graduate school.
It was college and a job with student affairs that sparked her interest in working to educate students about diversity on a college campus.
While working at the University of Tennessee, Mead heard about the new position at Ole Miss and decided it would be a great opportunity for her to make a difference in her home state.
Mead is now excited about starting her job at the university, and knows she has support coming from different people.
Shawndoba Mead
(DM Photo/Logan Kirkland)
“I know it won’t be easy at times, but I know there is a lot of support here for the center to be successful,” she said.
Courtney Pearson, an Ole Miss graduate and the university’s first black homecoming queen in 2012, is one of the graduate assistants working closely with Mead.
“I believe that not only will I be a better Student Affairs professional after working with her, but also that The University of Mississippi will become an even better place with her contribution,” Pearson said.
According to Brandi Hephner LaBanc, vice chancellor for student affairs, Mead is committed to getting students to come together from all different backgrounds.
“She doesn’t look at race and just see black and white; she sees the broad spectrum of students we have coming to our campus,” Hephner LaBanc said.
When Mead thinks of Mississippi, she sees that diversity is often perceived from a very black and white perspective. One of her main goals is to show the student body that there are more types of people out there than just black and white, and that they are all equal to each other.
Mead feels issues regarding race here at the university are not unique. She thinks every college campus has its own set of problems when dealing with diversity.
Some unique factors at The University of Mississippi are due to the history and integration that put the university in the spotlight, according to Mead. She also mentioned that, when an incident happens here, it usually becomes national news. The university does not get the chance to address the problem in a positive way by addressing it to those affected and the ones responsible, because of the media and history.
However, when handling incidents due to race, Mead believes she has an educational way to go about fixing the problem.
“I really believe in restorative justice, trying to give the accused group an opportunity to try to make the situation better, educate them and work together to fix it,” Mead said.
Mead currently has two goals for the center to create awareness to all students about diversity. First, she wants to provide programs and services that support students of color, LGBTQ and all under-represented student populations on campus. Secondly, she wants to provide opportunities for that cross-cultural interaction and engagement among all students.
“My goal and the center’s mission is that students will leave the university having a better understanding of their own identity, the identity of others, and how they can all be agents of change and social agents,” Mead said.
Mead hopes every student will keep an open mind about the center, because any student is welcome to come in and chat. In the future, she hopes the center will change people’s perspective of the university.
“I really want to get to a national level where we are really able to be the leaders in terms of creating a more inclusive campus,” Mead said.
-Maggie McDaniel
