A Community of Belonging

Carleton’s Elder-in-Residence program invites an Ojibwe or Dakota Elder to campus for a series of week-long residencies throughout the academic year. Ida Downwind’s first visit in January was focused on building and strengthening relationships of all sorts at Carleton.

Dr. Dina Zavala has been named to the inaugural position of vice president for inclusion, equity and community at Carleton, following a national search and interview process that included involvement and input from students, faculty, staff and alumni. She will begin her new role on June 1.

Diversity in higher education enhances critical thinking, bolsters interpersonal skills, and encourages cultural engagement and a concern for the public good. But a pending Supreme Court decision could upend decades of precedent and make it more difficult for colleges to ensure a holistic admissions process.

Phil Chan’06 returned to Carleton this fall as a visiting professor of dance. He’s teaching a course that explores over 300 years of “exotic” portrayals of “Orientals” on the Western ballet and opera stages, as well as the geopolitics that impacted how society views Asian people and cultures to this day.