McCrory selected as joint leader for DEMA, campus

Nearly two weeks after the Diversity Coalition Rally led by Hudson and Holland and Groups students, Kelley School of Business professor Martin McCrory was chosen to fill a new position in the Office of Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs.

McCrory was appointed associate vice president for DEMA as well as vice provost for educational inclusion and diversity on the IU-Bloomington campus.
 
McCrory will be the first person in three years to occupy the associate vice president position for DEMA. Edwardo Rhodes was the associate vice president for Student Development and Diversity, the former name of the role, from 2003 to 2010.

The new position establishes a joint appointment between DEMA and the Office of the Provost, thus reporting to Edwin Marshall, vice president of DEMA, and Provost Lauren Robel.

“We’ve been working closely with the office of provost looking at how we can strengthen programs like Hudson and Holland, Groups and 21st Century Scholars Program,” Marshall said. “I think that this new position, which now will have dual reporting lines both to the provost and to me, will allow McCrory to be able to work with both sides on how we can work better to strengthen the academic support programs that basically serve in my office.”

Marshall said McCrory’s new position will strengthen the programs in DEMA.

“What it really would do is create an executive bridge for constructive dialogue and interaction between DEMA support programs and the related activities in the offices that are housed in the office of provost," Marshall said. "It will help us integrate those programs and how we can better leverage and strengthen those programs within DEMA.”

Marshall said as of now, there are no plans to move the programs out of DEMA and into academic affairs.

“It’s an opportunity, a bridge for the office of provost and those programs within DEMA to have an individual who can translate between those offices’ interest and initiatives to improve these programs and go forward,” Marshall said.

Marshall said some of his goals for the programs in the Office of DEMA, such as Hudson and Holland and the Groups Program, is to grow the programs in terms of participation, programming and instructive activities. He said the programs do more than bring in  students.

“Bringing students in is one thing, but we need to also provide them with the support necessary for them to graduate and be successful in their careers,” Marshall said.
Marshall said that McCrory’s strength is in providing advising for students.

IU junior Leighton Johnson, a Diversity Coalition leader, said that McCrory’s appointment was the biggest initiative to follow the rally.

“To us, that’s monumental,” Johnson said. “Not only monumental, it’s massive. One of our goals was to fill the associate vice president position and if not then to move Hudson and Holland out of DEMA if you couldn’t put academic leadership over the programs.”

Tomorrow, Johnson will be talking to a local Indianapolis radio show hosted by Amos Brown to give a recap of the diversity coalition rally and McCrory’s new position.

“There’s going to be leadership from McCrory’s end that will be able to successfully and effectively run and support these programs,” Johnson said. “A lot of the issues that Hudson and Holland has run into since the departure of Rhodes won’t be happening anymore because now there would be leadership with experience, academic support and retention experience from McCrory’s end and from this new position.”

McCrory and Johnson met Tuesday evening to talk about the student issues and concerns in the DEMA program. McCrory chose not to comment on his new position.

“I’m optimistic,” Johnson said. “I have a good outlook on the future.”