» Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Chapman

All was quiet in Argyros Forum. Students plugged into their laptops pounded away at sticky keys as Qdoba and SubConnection employees catered to their hungry patrons. It’s the typical white noise for a student at Chapman University. Suddenly, the faint sound of Chapman Radio was drowned out by a guitarron, violin and various other instruments played by members of the Mariachi Club. Their unanticipated flash mob brought a spark of excitement to the study grounds, turning a sea of tiresome students and employees into a full blown concert.  

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Chapman Latinx is all about creating family. Whether members are bringing in pictures of loved ones in honor of Dia de los Muertos or simply immersing in each other’s company, president Silvia Miranda hopes to create a close atmosphere for all attending members. 

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Hawaiian Chapman students deal with unique changes when they start at the university, most notably the culture shock of the mainland United States compared to Hawaiian culture.

That is one reason why Pua’ikeana, Chapman’s Hawaiian student organization, is so important to Hawaiian Panthers. Pua’ikeana gives these students an environment that feels like home.

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Among the student populations at Chapman University, Black students make up one of the smallest racial or ethnic groups. In Fall 2022, Black or African American students made up 2.2% of the undergraduate student population. With this small of a population, it can often be difficult for Black students to be among peers who look like them.

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The Leatherby Libraries and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Chapman University celebrated the launch of the first ever Black Book Nook on the first floor of the library in November 2022. The Black Book Nook Collection fosters education and community engagement with Black history, thought, literature, and culture. It currently has over 250 rotating books, and the collection is still growing.  

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Throughout the month of June, LGBTQ+ Pride is commemorated in a myriad of ways. Most notable are the well-attended festivals and marches that draw together members of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies in celebration. People come to these celebrations “loud and proud,” often wearing colorful, self-expressive clothing and waving flags while reveling in the power and freedom of authenticity.

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In January 2023, a mural was installed outside of the Cross Cultural Center in Argyros Forum created by Los Angeles based artist, Damin (Zaoone) Lujan, in collaboration with students from Professors Rachelle Chuang and Bernie Dickson’s experimental Graphic Design course. The mural, Colors of Home, spans across an entire wall, incorporating cultures and symbols representing global diversity.

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Chapman University created the Faculty Diversification Initiative (FDI) in 2020 as part of its commitment to diversifying the Chapman faculty. The initiative creates a focused funding and recruitment process to identify and employ outstanding minority faculty members, with the goal of hiring two to three new diverse faculty members per year.

“The Chapman student population continues to get more diverse, and to meet the needs of those students it is important to have a more diverse faculty,” said Lawrence “LB” Brown, Pharm.D, Ph.D, professor of pharmaceutical economics and policy and presidential advisor on faculty diversification at Chapman University. “Outstanding, diverse faculty also bring unique additions to research, course offerings, pedagogy and the creative arts. Since Chapman has fewer Black faculty than we do Hispanic or Latinx faculty, the initial focus has been on hiring Black faculty.”

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When Shaykh Jibreel Speight gave the invocation at Chapman University’s inaugural Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Award Reception on Jan. 17, he noted it was also the birthday of another Black “fighter,” Muhammad Ali.

The event, which will be held annually the day after the federal holiday, recognizes a faculty member, a staff member and a student organization who are “keeping Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream alive.”

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On Friday, November 4, 2022, the Leatherby Libraries and Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion celebrated the launch of the Black Book Nook on the first floor of the library.

The Black Book Nook Collection fosters education and community engagement with Black history, thought, literature, and culture. The Black Book Nook currently has over 250 rotating books, and the collection is still growing. A complete list of titles is in our library catalog.

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Music students from Santa Ana and Garey high schools recently visited Chapman University, where they were able to work with clinicians and prepare for the college application process.

The two-day Chapman Strings Festival was organized by Tammy Yi, professor of music education in Chapman’s Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music and the founding director of the university’s Mariachi Panteras ensemble, with the goal of addressing structural inequities in local low-socio-economic communities. The festival was funded by a $15,000 Diversity and Inclusion grant from the university. 

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Since Mike Alfaro graduated from Chapman University in 2010, his lighthearted and updated take on the iconic bingo-like game Loteria has given him a large digital following and drawn the notice of Kelly Clarkson and the Los Angeles Times.  On Nov. 14 Alfaro returned to Chapman to play his game that started it all, Millennial Loteria, with Chapman’s Latinx Club and talk about his creative and personal journey. “I loved seeing the passion and community that this club has built around our shared culture,” he said. “I’m very happy to see how the community has become a family.”

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Actor, author, activist and social media favorite George Takei brought his powerful story of childhood imprisonment during World War II to Chapman University.

Takei – perhaps best known as helmsman Hikaru Sulu of “Star Trek” – recounted “the terror of that morning” his family was forced from their home and taken to prison camps, along with his father’s enduring faith in democracy and Takei’s subsequent work.

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Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is Oct. 31-Nov. 2. Gabriela Castaneda, Ph.D., director of Latinx achievement at Chapman University, shines light on the holiday’s traditions and Chapman events and shares her own memories of celebrating in Mexico.

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Pride Month has evolved into a national fixture each June, but October marks a perhaps lesser-known celebration – LGBT History Month.

Pride Month has been acknowledged on Chapman University’s campus, so some may wonder if LGBT History Month is also recognized.

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On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 landmark decision, Roe v. Wade, that protected a person’s right to choose to have an abortion, upheld for nearly 50 years. 

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"When you go behind the scenes and look at where Unite the Right was planned on Discord, and you see the volume of references to using violence during the rally, it’s overwhelmingly clear that this event was organized for the purpose of committing violence,” Simi said.

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“I wanted to design a study that looked for stories of success,” Cuevas said. “At the core was a commitment to developing relational trust. I did the interviews in Spanish, and I didn’t push a protocol but let the stories come up naturally.”

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The grant will offer critical support by helping Chapman develop curriculum to advance the conversation on diversity, equity and justice in the community.

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