Interview with VP Nixon

I interviewed VP Michael Nixon for Black History Month to inquire more about his position and the celebrated months that his office strives to highlight. As Nixon revealed to me, moving to the Berrien Springs community in the late nineties provided him with one of his first opportunities to get familiar with the diverse atmosphere that Andrews University cultivates on campus. He recounts feeling struck by the globally-represented nature of the university and how that facilitated an easy way to get to know people from various backgrounds. He further explained, however, how he noticed the difficulties with embracing diversity and inclusion on a campus that is so diverse. His observations at that younger age challenged him to consider how he would then fulfill the responsibilities of his office, by not enabling a specific mono-culture to dominate, and rather supporting the many communities that make Andrews University a unique, multicultural environment.

What is your university job here at AU? And what does it entail?
I'm the current VP of University Culture and Inclusion at Andrews University, as well as the Chief Diversity Officer for the institution. My office focuses on really championing the efforts of integrating equity and inclusion within the culture of the campus. My job entails varying roles, such as advising the president and other senior leaders in diversity matters. We host co-curricular events, other programs, we’re involved in training and awareness, and we often collaborate with other offices and student-led clubs.

What does your office typically do during Black History Month and other months highlighting minority groups?
This year I served as the Black History Month planning committee chair. What we do is invite various student club leaders from the Black diasporic background (such as BSCF, the Caribbean Club, the African Club, as well as New Life Fellowship), and we bring these folks together to talk about a specific theme. We then also look through and see the events they had planned throughout the month, and determine if there’s some way to find some synergy between the events that have been planned. For the other heritage months, our support varies, whether it’s Hispanic Heritage Month, Native American Heritage Month, or Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Month. We also try to support other special moments such as Women’s History Month and Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. Our approach is to partner with folks within our community that are from these various different people groups and see how we can support and empower a celebration of that culture. Our hope is to see how we can expand going forward so that we can continue to have these beautiful celebrations throughout the year, because I think it’s such a great part of our campus culture.

What does BHM mean to you and your office?
To my office, we believe in supporting, honoring, and celebrating the various different members that are within our community. We draw a lot of that inspiration from 1 Corinthians 12, which talks about the body of Christ. It’s important to consider when one part of the body hurts, and also when one part of the body is honored and then everybody is celebrated. Our office tries to pay special attention to the particular pain points within the body as well as celebrate them, and these cultural celebration months are a part of that.

For me, Black History Month is always a reminder of the importance of telling our story. The Black tradition is a strong one. It’s rooted in storytelling and narrative sharing. For Black people, there were so many efforts to strip us from our narrative. This is a reminder of how important this celebration is.

How do you think AU differs from other colleges in its approach to BHM and other diversity initiatives?
I think I may be biased, but I don't think we see this sort of Black History Month celebration anywhere else. I think sometimes we forget how diverse we are, and so it makes sense that you won’t really see these celebrations on other campuses like this one. It’s one of our strengths. Our celebrations really rank up there with anyone else’s.

What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of your job/office?
I think it's probably sometimes the distance that exists between the way the conversations that can be had on our campus, as compared to the way that the conversations are being had amongst our students. We’re trying to bridge that gap—the generational and cultural gap between the campus population. It’s hard to represent everyone’s voice, with over a hundred countries represented on our campus. What I've learned is to try to be spirit-led in our work, make ourselves available, and try to impact as many spaces on campus as much as possible. By striving to implement the principles of equity and inclusion, even though you don’t touch everyone, hopefully they still feel it on some level.

Has your office ever seen any backlash over the initiatives that you are leading, and if so, how have you dealt with that?
Yeah, definitely. I think it really boils down to how someone is intending to have the conversation. Sometimes we may not get something right, so it's important for us to listen and see how we can improve. We always invite folks to come and have conversations with us. If they have frustrations or need clarification, we encourage them to have an in-person conversation with us about it. I’m really down to engage in-person, over social media, or through email, in order to possibly come to some sort of resolution.

How can we as a diverse campus continue to create a welcoming and inclusive environment despite the various cultures represented?
Everyone has a part to play. “Treat others as you'd like to be treated” is a good place to start. I try to tell people to try to assume a positive intent when in conversation with someone else. It’s also important to understand that none of us see the world exactly as it is, we see it as we are. It's shaped by our experiences. Whatever is said may not be a personal attack on us. Also participating in learning and growing, which is considered a journey, not a destination. I don't know if we’ll ever fully arrive. Every week there’s more to do, more to learn, and more to see. We must feel humility and empathy to the best of our ability.

Any parting words?
If anyone wants to chat about anything, feel free to shoot me an email—if there's some way you may want to see your culture celebrated, or an idea someone may have regarding helping us improve or to include something we’re not doing. We’re open to ideas considering how a lot of our strong initiatives have been moved by student ideas and partnering.