Love will leave his position next month and depart for the University of Notre Dame.
After 10 years as director of the Office of Diversity Education, Love said he will leave IU in mid-November to become the director of staff of Diversity and Inclusion at Notre Dame.
Love said he was not seeking a new job but that Notre Dame approached him about a position at its campus. After Notre Dame made the offer, Love said he notified the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs, of which the ODE is a unit, to indicate he was willing to negotiate and discuss the issue in person.
Love said a DEMA official responded by saying the position at Notre Dame is a great opportunity, thanking Love for his years of service but adding they didn’t want to stand in his way.
“But no, they did not ask what the offer was from Notre Dame or what they could do to make me stay,” Love said.
Love noted that he is looking forward to his new opportunity and that he has no hard feelings or bitterness toward IU or DEMA.
Love added that he appreciates the autonomy DEMA has given him in his 10 years creating programming, like the Emergent Theater project, that isn’t directly related to his job description.
“I will definitely keep the door open to stay involved,” Love said.
DEMA officials did not respond to requests for comment regarding the decision to not negotiate with Love, but Vice Provost for Educational Inclusion and Diversity Martin McCrory wrote in an email that DEMA has mixed emotions about Love’s ?departure.
“Eric has been one of our key diversity leaders for several years,” McCrory said. “While (we’re) very excited for him, we cannot help the feeling of loss for Indiana University.”
McCrory said Love’s work with Raas Royalty, the Emergent Theater and the Unity Summit are examples of his exceptional leadership and added that it’s not surprising that Notre Dame recognized Love’s talent.
“He was given an offer that he could not refuse,” McCrory said.
McCrory noted that Love will still occasionally work with IU and said Love and DEMA have discussed several opportunities for continued collaborations.
“In fact, we have already tentatively planned an event for next semester,” he said.
McCrory added that he will miss Love as a friend and recalled that Love was the first DEMA director he talked to when his position was announced last year.
“I met with Eric months before I officially began my new position to discuss various issues on campus,” he said. “He immediately helped arrange meetings with diverse groups of student leaders and representatives.”
Students and staff close to Love said they will miss the popular campus figure and expressed surprise in learning the University did not do more to retain him.
One student leader who said IU will feel the loss of Love is Reshma Patel. She is serving her third year as a CommUNITY Educator in the residence halls.
Patel said Love is always there for her to turn to when she has diversity-related questions that often come up as a part of her ?position.
“He was always really knowledgeable about areas of diversity that aren’t understood by most people,” she said.
Patel added that Love puts great importance on helping students of different backgrounds relate.
“He wants to make students feel for each other and understand one another’s struggles,” she said.
Patel characterized Love as very patient, friendly, open to meeting new people and a mentor in the lives of many students, especially African American students.
“For almost all the African American students I know, he is always there for them as an adult figure in their life,” she said.
One student who calls Love her mentor is Autumn Gonzalez, president of the Black Student Union.
Gonzalez said Love is there to help all students, but especially serves as a resource to minorities.
“He helps me a great deal with all the stress I go through as a student ?leader, “ she said.
Gonzalez, too, expressed frustration that DEMA did not attempt to keep Love on campus.
“I don’t understand why they don’t want to keep him,” she said.
Love said he appreciates the student support.
“There were times I may not have felt valued by the administration, but I definitely always felt valued by students and staff,” he said. “I will miss IU very much, but I’m excited for a new chapter.”
Love said he came to IU for graduate school in 1999 and has been here ever since as a diversity educator.
Love said highlights of his time at IU include the crea tion of Unity Summit, in which students gather to discuss diversity issues, and the Emergent Theater project, in which topics like diversity, identity, social justice and multiculturalism are explored through theater.
Outside his official position, Love serves as an adviser for several campus groups, including competitive dance team Raas Royaly, multicultural sorority Theta Nu Xi, the Black Student Union and the historically black fraternity Kappa Alpha Xi.
Love said he will miss the people he has worked with at IU, including his colleagues in various cultural centers, the bias incident teams and the Commission of Multicultural Understanding.
He said a favorite part of his job at IU is knowing that he is making a difference and said he is looking forward to having a new campus to influence and educate.
