The Pratt School of Engineering has had 11 deans in their 82-year history. Only one—Kristina M. Johnson in 1999—has been female, and only one—Ravi Bellamkonda, who left Duke in July—has been a person of color.
But Pratt hopes to push more diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives amid the recent selection of incoming Vinik Dean Jerome Lynch.
Succeeding Bellamkonda, Lynch is posted to begin Jan. 1. As dean, Lynch hopes to expand upon existing diversity initiatives and bring them further during his deanship.
“I'm excited that we have a dean who's really excited and really wants to push [diversity] further,” said Karis Boyd-Sinkler, Pratt's director of diversity, equity and inclusion. Boyd-Sinkler is also a co-chair of Pratt's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Community Committee.
“When it comes to how I look at [diversity, equity and inclusion], I really like that [Lynch is] focused on how we look at everyone and involving people within the community," she said.
What does the DEIC Committee look for in a dean?
Nan Jokerst, Pratt associate dean for strategic initiatives and DEIC Committee co-chair, provided information on the DEIC committee’s priorities and background for the dean search process.
“A demonstrated commitment and actions in the past history of the candidates regarding [diversity, equity and inclusion] was very, very important to the committee,” Jokerst said.
According to Jokerst, the committee prioritized an equitable hiring process to find a qualified individual who had shown constructive action in regards to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. As a result, there was not a particular discussion of a push for a woman or person of color to be hired as dean.
“The [DEIC Committee] had input into the formulation of the process, in that it was very important to the committee that it be an equitable and fair hiring process,” Jokerst said. “There was no discussion of a push, except for an equitable hiring process, and a candidate … with a prior commitment and demonstrated previous action.”
What role does the DEIC Committee play in dean selection?
The DEIC Committee has a sizable say in the selection of the dean, according to Boyd-Sinkler, including interviews and conversations to understand what Lynch’s vision for the DEIC would be.
When looking for a dean, Boyd-Sinkler said that she and the DEIC Committee looked to find someone whose values strongly aligned with the committee’s visions, taking into consideration not only the student experience, but also faculty, staff and postdoctoral researchers.
“We want to make sure we have the best candidate, and then make sure that their values align when it comes to where we need to move forward, when it comes to [diversity, equity and inclusion],” Boyd-Sinkler said.
Though Boyd-Sinkler is happy with the selection of Lynch as dean, she acknowledged that work needs to be done in terms of seeing diverse figureheads and people in power.
“One of the biggest things is we have so many more areas to grow and move forward,” Boyd-Sinkler said. “I think we have to just be more intentional about bringing other people to the table. And I feel like over time, we'll get a lot better as far as having more people represented.”
Other current DEIC work
Boyd-Sinkler, Jokerst and the DEIC Committee are also working to host a range of events, including name pronunciation workshops, an experiential exposure diversity series, seminars regarding allyship and implicit unconscious bias training.
“Instead of people coming to me, I'm coming to different meetings and having more everyday conversations [on diversity] instead of a once a month or once a year type of conversation,” Boyd-Sinkler said.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.
Ishani Raha is a Pratt junior and a senior editor of The Chronicle's 119th volume.