I am happy to announce the move of the Center for Community Engagement to the Chief Diversity Office in the Office of the President. At the suggestion of President Judy Sakaki, as part of our campus efforts to act on racial injustice, anti-Black policing, and structural oppression and make a broader impact in the community, the CCE will take on expanded roles around diversity, equity, and inclusion. I now report to Dr. Jerlena Griffin-Desta, Chief of Staff to the President and Associate Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Diversity.
“President Sakaki and I welcome the CCE to the Office of the President and look forward to elevating the work of the CCE by deepening and broadening our efforts to address racial injustice,” says Dr. Griffin-Desta. “Changing times call us to rethink the way we accomplish our goals, and that is never a truer statement than now as we take on the challenges of educating our students for active citizenship in a racially unjust society and in a pandemic that disproportionately impacts Black and Brown people in the U.S. The time for action is now, and the CCE is a key partner in the activist work in which we now must engage.”
President Sakaki has long supported the work of the CCE, from approving the Civic Action Plan soon after her arrival on campus, to making a concerted effort to engage with California Campus Compact, to this move now, President Sakaki is demonstrating that she is invested in the work of the CCE.
Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Karen Moranski explains, “The CCE’s academic mission and faculty development work are critical to the distinctiveness of a Sonoma State education, so Dr. Weisman will maintain a dotted line report in Academic Affairs to the Interim AVP for Academic Programs, Dr. Stacey Bosick.”
We are excited about this new era for the CCE and look forward to collaborating with you in this new capacity.