Recently, the university created a new position, faculty liaison for EDI, and appointed Amanda Casto. JPR’s Jane Vaughan recently spoke with Casto, who’s also an education professor at the university, about her new role.
Jane Vaughan: You came to SOU back in 2019. And you've worked in the education department and on the Committee for Equity and Diversity. Can you tell me a little bit about your background at SOU, and how it led you to this new appointment?
Amanda Casto: Immediately when I got here, I knew that my goals of teaching equitably and with an inclusion focus was a university-wide theme. And so I immediately sought out some of the programs or projects that were happening on campus. One of the things that I joined right away was a brown bag lunch sequence or series where we did a book study when we were looking at culturally responsive teaching. And that really just made me more excited for the ways that we can encapsulate that feeling of inclusiveness and making our students feel welcome and making others on campus feel welcome. And so with that, I reached out to the leaders of the Committee for Equity and Diversity on our campus and said, 'I would love to be part of this team.' And ever since then, I've been working with the CED on different initiatives and projects and events that really focus on making SOU this welcoming, inclusive space where everybody belongs.
JV: In the fall, the university hosted some campus conversations about various topics. And one of them was the structure of the EDI department. What have you heard from students, from the community, either at those meetings or elsewhere, about what they would like to see from this department?
AC: There have been, ever since I've been at SOU, there have been a number of conversations about the structure of EDI. In fact, it has changed a lot since I started here in 2019. And so I feel like those conversations are ever-evolving because our needs are evolving, especially since the pandemic. So we've seen different iterations of what the structure of EDI looks like to achieve these different goals. So all that to be said, the conversations that we have now aren't new. It's now a matter of looking at theoretically, what do we want for our campus and now creating some action behind what we've always said we want. And I think that these new roles as part of the Office for EDI is one step in achieving these goals.
JV: You said this has changed a little bit since you first got here in 2019. How do you feel like things have changed?
AC: I have seen SOU take various steps towards showing our greater community our desire to put EDI in the forefront of our mission and our work that we do. I've seen more movement in making these shifts happen or making these waves happen. Part of that is I joined at the time of the pandemic when we were all meeting very remotely and everybody was very isolated. And I feel like when we came out of those isolations and moved into our greater campus community, all being together again, we really realized the need to bring EDI to the forefront of what it is that we do. So really trying to find actionable ways to kind of walk the walk has been really awesome to see. And I know that we have more coming down the pike.
JV: What specific goals do you have for your new position? You've been in it for about a month.
AC: When I started at SOU, and even before, I remember when I came here for my interview and then just all my communication with folks in between the time I interviewed and the time I started, SOU to me was the most welcoming place I had ever started working at. I felt like everybody welcomed me with open arms, and I felt like I was heard and I was listened to. And I want that experience for everybody. That is my mission and my goal for the work that I will be doing as a faculty liaison for the Office for EDI. I like to hear other's stories and what their lived experiences are so that I know how I can better help them, just like a teacher would their student.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
