Having recently appointed its first assistant dean of diversity and equity, the Education School is seeking both to examine its own diversity and to prepare its students for the multicultural world they will encounter after graduation.
According to Education School Dean Robert Pianta, the appointment of Stanley Trent, associate professor of curriculum, instruction and special education, will advance the Education School's efforts to become even more culturally, racially and socioeconomically diverse.
"I felt that if we were going to be serious about the issue of diversity and equity, we needed a school-wide leader position to do that," Pianta said, noting that Trent has prior experience working with historically black colleges and is fully prepared to take on the responsibility of the new position.
Trent said being able to play a vital role in diversity issues is something he has wanted to do for a long time, adding that diversity is an important piece of the education puzzle that must be addressed.
Trent said he will focus primarily on three areas of diversity in the Education School this year.
"The first is how to best prepare our students to address diversity in the classroom," Trent said. "The two other areas are the diversification of the faculty and the [diversification of the] student body."
Pianta added that he hopes Trent can work toward the creation of a curriculum through which Education School students can have "meaningful" exposure to diversity issues.
Trent noted that although some courses focusing on diversity are already offered, he hopes to spark discussions that allow students to make diversity-based connections across different courses.
In his new position, Trent said he will work with an already existing diversity committee at the Education School.
"We have had a group of faculty getting together in a diversity committee, and they have certainly helped foster ideas and activities," Pianta said. "Now what we are doing is [figuring out] how to take some of those ideas and think more broadly."
Trent's influence as assistant dean will not just be restricted to the Education School. Gertrude Fraser, vice provost for faculty advancement, said she will work with Trent in exchanging ideas between the Education School and the broader University community.
"One of the ways we work together is partnering around these mentoring initiatives, and I look forward to working on more decisions with him," Fraser said. "Often, he and I have talked about how we can raise the level of conversation -- meaning to think about diversity as part of the fabric of the way we work, as opposed to just adding a person or adding a course."
Fraser said she would like the Education School to take a leadership role in promoting diversity at the University and beyond, adding that she believes Trent shares her opinion.
"The goal is to prepare students to work effectively in the diverse communities that they will be facing when they step from the University," Fraser said. -- Thomas Madrecki contributed to this article.
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