Everyone benefits all stakeholders are provided access and are engaged, and a diversity of perspectives is represented. This precept has permeated my work and personal life. I am committed to ensuring equitable access to resources and opportunities and fostering a welcoming and positive culture. I believe that sensitivity to the institutional challenges faced by marginalized individuals can make a difference in helping students realize their full potential through higher education.
On June 2, 2003, I published “Diverse Perspectives Crete Prosperous Results” in the Printing News. I wrote: “…I am proud to be associated with institutions that value and promote diversity in the academic workplace. As a white male, it might seem as though I would have something to lose by advocating this viewpoint. However, by promoting diversity, institutions strive to create an environment where creative thinking and creative problem solving abound, and I am frequently the beneficiary of these decisions.”
While supporting institutional diversity initiatives is essential, this effort alone is insufficient for the classroom and workplace. For example, individuals may fear retribution for dissenting viewpoints. As a leader of co-learners in the classroom, I am responsible for engaging with individuals from varied backgrounds in a spirit of collegiality and respect. This engagement shows respect for these individuals’ backgrounds, cultures, and genders and enriches my life as I continually learn while making new friends. In that same 2003 article, I wrote: “It is also my responsibility to ensure that my classroom is an environment where fear of retribution for ideas is driven out.” My efforts here include learning about important cultural and religious holidays and memorizing phrases in different languages. My whiteboard office calendar consists of these holidays each month. I proactively message students away from home near these events and ensure they are connected to local resources and have the technologies to communicate with loved ones.
These efforts are founded upon respect and bear fruit organizationally and for me, as the nuances of diverse cultures and practices are profoundly interesting.
Further, it is the responsibility of leaders to adopt a proactive perspective of cultural humility. This approach is consistent with a commitment to continual improvement. In 2021, I earned the cultural humility certificate from the Division of Diversity and Inclusion at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), which entailed completing several courses offered by that Division. I look forward to more classes in 2023. As a result of my participation here, I have written to elected leaders to support legislation to assist underrepresented and historically oppressed communities. I have also been inspired to attend lectures and read research and opinions that I may have overlooked before attending these courses, enabling me to grow in these critical areas.
I have been active in the RIT program “I’m First,” an organization committed to supporting first-generation university students. As a first-generation university student, sharing my experiences with the students in this group represents a significant way for me to connect with students from across the institute and proactively offer help and guidance. I am also active with the “Women in Technology” initiative. I am proud that the academic programs I lead are among the top programs at RIT in the percentage of STEM students who identify as female. I am especially proactive in advising students on salary negotiation strategies to narrow the gender wage gap.
In summary, I recognize that the work at cultural humility is ongoing and lifelong. Providing classrooms and a workplace where diversity is respected and individuals are honored is foundational to this vital work. I believe that professors need to not only facilitate a positive and inclusive culture in the classroom but also advocate for institutional changes that better protect marginalized students. Such actions are consistent with my values and aspirations.
Example of Cultural Recognition
Additional note: In January and February of 2025, I taught some Saturday classes at New York University in the MS Integrated Marketing Program to help out a colleague. As the classes met during the Lunar New Year (otherwise known as “Spring Festival”) and 100% of the students in the course were international students from China, I decided to hand out “red envelopes.” It is a tradition in Chinese culture that the young receive red envelopes that contain cash from their elders, typically parents and grandparents. Instead of cash, I purchased $1 scratch-off lottery tickets for each of the envelopes.
This gesture was received by the students positively and in the spirit intended. One of them took a video of me presenting the envelopes and posted it on Chinese TikTok (known as “Douyin”.) The video included some positive comments by the student which are reproduced below, as translated by Deepl Translate. The link to TikTok is also provided; the posting received over 10,000 likes and very positive comments.
Although this did not occur at RIT, I believe it is representative of my desire to help make international students feel welcome by learning a bit about their culture and recognizing it in the classroom. For many, it is difficult to be separated from loved ones at holiday times. The goal of this gesture was to help the students feel more welcome and to encourage engagement with the course content. Therefore, I’m sharing it here.
https://www.douyin.com/video/7466654827767024953
Posting from student:
What’s it like to suddenly receive a red envelope from your professor during class? 🥲❤️
It was the fifth day of Chinese New Year, and we were in class.
Then, halfway through the lecture, the teacher suddenly asked us:
🇨🇳 “Besides having reunion dinners and setting off fireworks, what else do we do during Spring Festival?”
When a student mentioned giving red envelopes, the teacher suddenly pulled out a stack of handwritten New Year red envelopes from his bag and said very earnestly, “Happy New Year!” 🎉
At the end, he played “Happy New Year” as the curtain rose, revealing his handwritten Chinese notes covering the entire board—so densely packed.
I almost cried. 😭
He truly respects his students and loves our culture.
Such a patient, charming little old man.
I think I’m falling for this teacher.
(Translated with DeepL.com (free version))
Bruce Leigh Myers, Ph.D. 