Cornell Craig, Hofstra’s first chief diversity and inclusion officer (CDIO), began work in his new position on Monday, April 1.

He was hired in March after a months-long nationwide search.

One of Craig’s main goals in this new position is uniting the different diversity initiatives that different departments and schools already have.

“There’s a lot of good work already going on with diversity and inclusion on campus, but there’s no overarching theme, goal [or] strategy,” he said.

“My focus will be to bring together those different areas and have an overarching strategy for what we’re doing from an institutional perspective as far as diversity.”

Craig came to Hofstra from Pace University, where he was involved with multicultural affairs and diversity since 2009. His new role at Hofstra will build upon his experience as he hopes to bring together students, faculty and staff to improve the University.

The new CDIO wants to start a campus-wide dialogue by listening to students. This will be achieved through open forums where concerned members of the Hofstra community can openly speak.

“It’s not for me to tell students what their experience is or what it should be,” Craig said. “It’s for me to hear what those experiences are, build on the positive aspects of it and look to remedy those areas where they aren’t being served.”

One of these open forums will take place on Wednesday, April 17, when the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication will hold its town hall to address concerns from the diversity and inclusion survey that was sent out earlier this semester.

Craig is aware of the diversity and race discussions that have been taking place at Hofstra over the past year.

In addition to forums where he can hear these students speak directly, one of his long-term goals is to create an online process that would allow students to submit comments and concerns to his office.

He hopes to address diversity issues across the board in various areas. “[We want] to be more transparent as far as creating access and opportunity for student voices to be heard. I think that’s important,” he said. “I think it’s also important to look at other areas of diversity that can really use some improvement. Looking at diversity amongst faculty … looking at implicit bias and the role that can play.”

The addition of the CDIO to the cabinet of President Stuart Rabinowitz highlights Hofstra’s continued efforts to address diversity and inclusion on campus.

In 2015, the University created the Intercultural Engagement and Inclusion office, a branch of Student Affairs that oversees multicultural and LGBTQ+ clubs and programming.

“Creating this leadership position is part of Hofstra’s continuing commitment to diversity and inclusion,” Rabinowitz said in a statement.

“Cornell Craig has a track record of developing strategies and programs that foster a campus environment that values diversity, and an ability to collaborate across disciplines and departments that is essential for the success of this newly created role.”