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Designing and communicating higher education DEI strategies and tactics in a polarised political landscape
Journal of Education Advancement & Marketing,
8
(4),
385-395
(2024)
Abstract
The ideas inherent in and about diversity, equity and inclusion philosophies have reached a fever pitch within and outside the halls of the academy. In some institutions, they seem like a template for reform of higher education recruiting, hiring, training and communicating practices with various audiences and stakeholders that is long overdue. In other contexts, they are an embodiment of a ‘woke’ culture that continues to espouse perspectives from left-leaning constituencies that may have ignored ordinary citizens. Unfortunately, few in-between positions seem appropriate. This paper examines the conditions that led to this stalemate and how universities and colleges are delineating their positions and communicating accordingly. We close with implications for university marketing professionals who must craft messages for internal and external audiences.
Keywords: diversity; equity and inclusion; university communications; marketing
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Ronald Hill has a PhD in business administration from the University of Maryland and is the Dean's Professor of Marketing and Public Policy at the American University, Kogod School of Business. He has authored over 200 journal articles, books, chapters and conference papers on topics that include impoverished consumer behaviour, marketing ethics, corporate social responsibility, human development and public policy. Outlets for this research are Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing, Business and Society, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Human Rights Quarterly, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and Harvard Business Review. He served as the Vice President of Publications for the American Marketing Association, and he is Editor-in-Chief of the Responsible Research in Business and Management Honor Roll. His term as Editor of the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing extended from July 2006 until June 2012, and he served as Editor of the Journal of Consumer Affairs 2018–22. Awards include Williams-Qualls-Spratlen Multicultural Mentoring Award of Excellence, Villanova University Outstanding Faculty Research Award, Pollay Prize for Excellence in the Study of Marketing in the Public Interest, AMA Marketing and Society Special Interest Group Lifetime Achievement Award, Alan N. Nash Distinguished Doctoral Graduate Award and VSB McDonough Family Faculty Award for Research Excellence. He also was awarded the Marketing Management Association Master Scholar Award and the AMA William L. Wilkie Marketing for a Better World Award. In 2023 he received the Outstanding Scholarship, Research, Creative Activity and Other Professional Contributions Award at American University
Sarah Mady is Senior Professorial Lecturer in the Kogod School of Business at American University. Dr Mady's research and teaching interests are in the areas of multinationals' adaptations to international environmental factors such as animosity, acculturation, intercultural accommodations, ethics and targeted marketing, with an emphasis on the service sector. She has held several leadership positions championing inclusive excellence within Kogod and across the university, including the role of Interim Dean of DEI. Dr Mady has published in the Journal of International Marketing, International Marketing Review, Journal of Services Marketing, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, and Journal of Euromarketing. She is an active member of the Academy of Marketing Science and its annual conference, as well as a member of the American Marketing Association (AMA). She has presented her work promoting consumer well-being at the AMA's Marketing and Public Policy Conference and showcased curriculum review and enhancement efforts at the American Association of Colleges and Universities Conference on integrating diversity and equity across the curriculum. In 2023 she received the Outstanding Service to the University Award at American University.
Stacy Merida is the Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at American University's Kogod School of Business in Washington, DC and a professorial lecturer in the business and entertainment degree programme. She earned her BA in business administration from Stillman College, MBA from University of Mobile and PhD in urban higher education from Jackson State University. She was formerly a professor of music business in the recording industry department at Middle Tennessee State University. Stacy is the president and owner of The MERIDA Group, a marketing and business consulting firm based in Brentwood, Tennessee. Her clients have included SONY Music Entertainment, BET, Integrity Music and Warner Bros. Records. She also served as the Vice President of Marketing for SONY Music Entertainment and the Director of CBA Marketing and Sales for Benson Label Group. She remains active with professional, civic and charitable organisations that celebrate diversity in the arts and education. She currently serves on the board of directors and as treasurer of the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association (MEIEA). Stacy's scholarly research has been in the area of ‘Understanding Cultural Competency and Proficiency in Higher Education through the Perceptions of Higher Education Administrators’, and she continues to perform and present scholarly research in diversity, equity and inclusion. Her additional scholarly activities include examining creative economies in the entertainment sector and how business, marketing and management skills are a vital part of the future of these sectors.
