Editorial: OCU’s future was female, but what about now?

Three years ago, Student Publications put out a print issue of the paper on April 4, 2018 declaring “OCU’s future is female!” The story on the front page was celebrating three women who had just been put into positions of power on campus: Martha Burger as university president, Jordyn Tarter as Student Government Association president and Jennifer Rodgers as police chief of OCU Police Department.

Three years later, each of those women in those positions have been filled by men. Burger announced her retirement via email on Aug. 8, 2020 and is set to leave office on June 30. Tarter graduated from OCU and was replaced by Trae Trousdale, mass communications/political science senior, then Abby Banks, political science/philosophy/economics junior, and after she resigned, SGA President Reid Powell took her place. Rodgers was fired for reasons not publicly known and was replaced by Dexter Nelson.

Out of the four presidential candidates selected as finalists, none of them were women. There were also no women finalists when selecting the new police chief last academic year. On top of that, OCU’s board of trustees only has 12 women, out of 40 trustees.

If OCU truly values diversity and inclusion, these are circumstances they should evaluate for equity and representation. Or, they should provide transparency about their hiring and search policies, so the community will know if there are blind spots in our university and can work to fix them.

Of course, OCU and its leaders have made strides to improve diversity, equity and inclusion on campus. OCU selected Dexter Nelson as OCU police chief, the first person of color to fill that role. Reid Powell and Brittany Wyatt have finalized long-running work to change signage on some bathrooms to be more inclusive.

All OCU officials with power must be aware of their privilege, and they should use their power to lift up members of neglected and marginalized communities and continue to fight for equity in all fields. As Evans steps in to fill the role of OCU president, he should remember the legacy of the women who have worked at OCU and strive to continue making space for people who are not men to have a voice on campus.