Dr. Antonio Steps Into DEI Role With Vast Experience
Dr. Edward Antonio, Marist's Inaugural Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Photo Courtesy of Concordia College
When the search committee for Marist College’s inaugural Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion sent their first email to Dr. Edward Antonio, he ignored it. When they sent a second email, he ignored it too. On the third attempt to contact him, he answered, heard what they had to say and decided to apply.
Antonio said the opportunity that presented itself at Marist was part of what enticed him to take the role. “After I met with the search committee, I was impressed with how knowledgeable they were about DEI,” said Antonio. “They were honest about the needs of the [college], and when I met with different groups on campus – students, faculty and staff – they were each excited about DEI.”
Antonio is a lifetime academic who always had his sights set on becoming a professor. Growing up in Zimbabwe, he knew of Marist through the schools sponsored by the Marist Brothers throughout the continent. After doing undergrad, a master’s and a doctorate in the United Kingdom, Antonio began teaching at home in Zimbabwe, then moved to South Africa and Germany before coming to the United States.
Antonio first ascended into an administrative role at the University of Denver while in their School of Theology. “I thought it would be temporary… that’s how they get you.” After leading a task force to address issues relating to diversity, Antonio was asked to become the Chief Diversity Officer. After leaving Denver, Antonio joined Concordia College in Minnesota for the same role.
Marist President Kevin C. Weinman said the criteria he had for finding the first VP of DEI was “someone whom the aim of creating a more diverse, equitable and inclusive community is a life’s passion. Someone with proven experience and… someone who can help an institution create a universal sense of belonging for everyone on this campus – students, faculty and staff alike.”
Antonio checks off all the boxes on that list.
Weinman says that “Dr. Antonio will challenge every one of us across the college to join the essential aim of making Marist a more diverse, equitable and inclusive college.”
Before starting in this new role at Marist, Antonio set some goals. First is to develop a close relationship with the student body. Next is to inspire the community to “embrace DEI and embed it throughout,” said Antonio.
These are all nice words to say and hear, but how does action get taken and change accomplished?
Antonio identifies diversifying the student population and the faculty and staff. According to CollegeSimply, Marist’s undergrad population is 78% White, 9% Hispanic, 4% Black and 3% Asian. Those figures earn Marist a “Low” racial diversity rating. In 2020, 20.5% of the full-time faculty were people of color, per Marist’s website.
“I’d like students of color to see themselves represented in the professoriate here,” said Antonio. “I would also like caucasian students to be exposed to faculty of color so they can learn from different cultures, different perspectives and different racial and ethnic experiences.”
Antonio pinpoints conversations as one of the keys to making strides in DEI. “I’d like this to be a place of vibrant conversations about our differences, whatever those differences are,” said Antonio.
No matter what those conversations are – religion, political ideology, sexual orientation, disability, race – they will be essential if Marist is to realize its goal of becoming a more diverse, equitable and inclusive institution. “I want us to model what it looks like to be a society where we can respect each other, even if we disagree about things,” said Antonio.
After only a short time in Poughkeepsie, Antonio has noticed an “eagerness, hunger and willingness” to learn about DEI and improve it in the community. He encourages all members of the Marist community to lean into that intrigue, acknowledging that this is undoubtedly a group effort; “what’s the cliche? It takes a village.”
Antonio envisions the future of Marist to be one that is an accurate microcosm of the society it lives in, meaning the diversity rates will reflect those of the city, town, county and state. Further, he hopes that the intrinsic nature of DEI at Marist will attract students and faculty that wouldn’t have previously found Marist. “I’d like equity, fairness and respect for others to be the hallmark of this institution and to be what distinguishes us from other institutions and universities.”