Discussions on Diversity: GFU’s New Multicultural Leadership Class
Reported By: Sophia Lumsdaine
The origins of George Fox University’s (GFU) new Multicultural Leadership class can be traced back to one particular conversation over coffee.
This conversation occurred between D’Metri Mattocks, director of Intercultural Life, and Dave Johnstone, director of Commuter Life. The two began discussing Johnstone’s background in leadership instruction and Mattocks’ passion for empowering others in their unique experiences and identities. Both saw the potential for collaboration and decided to pursue the intersection of these ideas.
After discussion with GFU about the viability and implementation of the course, the Introduction to Multicultural Leadership class was born. The course began at the start of the semester and will conclude at the end of the semester.
Co-taught by Mattocks and Johnstone, it aims to develop and strengthen students’ leadership skills as they engage with the diverse world around them. In the Daily Bruin, it was described as “experiential, conversational, a little experimental, and hopefully fun and engaging.”
Although GFU does offer many leadership classes, they tend to be major-specific or position-specific. “We wanted to create a leadership class available to any student regardless of major, role, or even experience,” Johnstone explained.
A wide variety of programs are offered through the Intercultural Resource Center (IRC) that promote ideas similar to those discussed in the class, including ethnic heritage organizations, cross-cultural enterprises, and sponsored events which deal with multicultural topics.
However, the course provides a more consistent opportunity for students to engage with multicultural issues. Students who may not normally frequent the IRC have access to the class, and for those who do, it gives “some structure to what they are learning about in terms of multicultural awareness and competency,” Johnstone said.
“[M]y hope is that we all engage in the things we do, we all ask questions that might be a little risky, we all learn to listen,” he stated. The guiding approach to the class seeks to empower students in their abilities and clarify that leadership is manifested in many different forms.
Mattocks expressed that he hopes the class “starts to influence how we view leadership as a campus, and [...] expand our definition [...] that exists a lot of times in Western society of the leader being this strong person that has the loudest voice and is able to command a crowd.” Leaders are also “the ones who are willing to lead in the shadows or the ones who are leading by example,” he said.
In accordance with his vision of “helping others recognize the value and worth they possess as image bearers of God,” Mattocks wants students “to leave the class feeling like they had the chance to further explore their own voice and leadership.”
Like many leadership courses, this class emphasizes the virtues of self-awareness and empathy, but it also adds the value of inclusivity. Although Johnstone noted that “inclusivity” can often be a buzzword which lacks authentic meaning, it is clearly defined in the context of this class.
“[D]ifferences add value to our community,” Johnstone said. So how “we include rather than exclude or marginalize” is the foundational question that drives the class.