The newly created Office for Community Belonging is a place for students and faculty to freely voice their experiences and opinions at Pepperdine. With a need for diversity and inclusion to hold a bigger space within campus culture, students and administrators hope for the community to transform for the better.
J. Goosby Smith
Opinion: The University Must Welcome All Students
It would be an inconsiderate assumption to say everyone at Pepperdine feels at home. The University must take more steps to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in and out of classrooms.
Pepperdine Introduces New Chief Diversity Officer and Assistant Vice President for Community Belonging
In a March 3 President’s Briefing, President Jim Gash introduced J. Goosby Smith as the first vice president for community belonging and chief diversity officer and April Harris Akinloye as the assistant vice president for community belonging. Smith and Harris Akinloye will head diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at Pepperdine starting June 1.
