DEI Testimonial: Jordan Nellums
“During my time in college, I attended two predominantly white institutions for both undergraduate and graduate studies. In both cases, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programming played a crucial role in helping me find a community on campus when there were few of us. Additionally, DEI programming equipped me with essential leadership skills. As I recently wrote in a commentary, the central values of DEI programs in colleges and universities are to ensure equal access to success in higher education and provide extra resources to specific populations to achieve success standards similar to their peers. DEI programs strive to create a campus culture that values and celebrates all students' diverse life experiences and cultural backgrounds, fostering an inclusive and equitable educational environment for all students. Despite attempts by some government officials to eliminate DEI from colleges and universities, the values of DEI will never disappear from students and universities that strive to make colleges and universities accessible to current and future students. Although our efforts to expand have faced many setbacks, the late Congressman John Lewis's words inspire me -
‘Ours is not the struggle of one day, one week, or one year. Ours is not the struggle of one judicial appointment or presidential term. Ours is the struggle of a lifetime, or maybe even many lifetimes, and each one of us in every generation must do our part.’
Jordan J. Nellums, LBJ School of Public Affairs, MPaff ‘23, Former Barbara Jordan Co-Chair
