Vice President for Mission the Rev. Larry Snyder and Diversity and Inclusion Officer Calvin Hill held a brown bag luncheon on April 9 to discuss how their new roles will contribute to the university.

Snyder and Hill, both hired earlier this year, used the meeting to show the direction in which they want to take their new roles and how the Office of Mission and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion can further St. Thomas’ vision for the future.

“They’re both really critical to the university in terms of who we are, where we’re going, so we really wanted to create this conversation,” Hill said.

Snyder said it’s important for staff, faculty and students to know that the responsibility of diversity and mission falls on all community members.

“Both mission and diversity belong to everyone,” Snyder said. “You can’t say, ‘Oh there’s an Office for Mission, and they take care of that.’”

Snyder said his focus during the discussion was the continued role of the Office for Mission in the developments made by the strategic planning committees.

“It’s a time of kind of rejuvenating,” he said. “The mission is supposed to inspire everyone and kind of animate the whole campus.”

In discussion with the faculty and staff present, Snyder said an important issue for many is making sure all members of St. Thomas feel included in the mission.

“This is a Catholic institution and that means certain things, but half the students aren’t Catholic, so how do we make sure that we’re including everyone and respecting their beliefs?” Snyder said. “They are things that we’ve been very conscious of and are going to work toward.”

Hill said his focus during the luncheon and for St. Thomas is changing the university structurally to include diverse perspectives and to develop a broad understanding of diversity that includes race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity and more.

“It’s not just about having people with differences around you … If we really are going to change and really are going to be more culturally confident, it’s about engaging with those individuals,” he said.

Hill said the main concern the audience discussed during his presentation was the importance of creating a community that is inclusive of diversity.

“It was a good question. How do we make people who have been traditionally marginalized feel like they’re a part of our community?” he said.

As the two move forward in their new roles of diversity and mission, both Hill and Snyder said it is important to have continued engagement with the St. Thomas community.

“These are the things that are ongoing,” Hill said. “It’s a continued effort, and it has to be everyone’s responsibility.”

Rebecca Mariscal can be reached at mari2162@stthomas.edu.