Dal’s next VP will be ‘racially visible’

HALIFAX — Dalhousie University says its search for a new senior administrator will be restricted to “racially visible” and Indigenous candidates, part of its efforts to increase underrepresented groups on the Halifax campus.

In a memo to the university community, provost and vicepresident academic Carolyn Watters said the prerequisite is in line with the principles of Dalhousie’s employment equity policy.

“We have embarked on the process of selecting a new viceprovost student affairs,” she stated in the memo last month, adding that the search “will be restricted to racially visible persons and Aboriginal Peoples at this time.”

Jasmine Walsh, Dalhousie’s assistant vice-president of human resources, said Tuesday Dalhousie has been “deliberate and proactive” in its recruitment so students will be able to see themselves reflected throughout the university’s ranks.

“This is a position where we’re looking across our senior admin ranks at Dalhousie, we note that there are representation gaps for racialized and Indigenous People, and so the decision was made to try and target our recruitment efforts to find qualified candidates who will help to increase our representation in the senior ranks,” Walsh said.

The search comes after incumbent Arig al Shaibah announced she would be leaving the university at the end of March after less than two years.

The recruitment raises questions about whether such restrictions could be a form of either tokenism or discrimination.

Walsh dismissed any suggestion that the recruitment is a symbolic gesture to give the appearance of racial equality in the university workforce.

“If this were the only thing that we were doing, that would be a different conversation. But it’s part of a broader context,” she said.

As for the suggestion that limiting the competition somehow constitutes “reverse racism,” Walsh said the university is taking a “fair approach” to recruitment.

“What we’re ultimately striving for is fairness.”