Meet Dr. Timothy Fair, Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion
As LSU Health New Orleans' new Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion, Dr. Timothy Fair can easily point to a defining life experience that led him on his current path.
He grew up in Milwaukee, which he described as diverse, but said his undergraduate college did not reflect that diversity.
“There were only about 30 or 40 Black students,” he said. “During my first semester, I was already beginning the transfer process when the Director of Diversity reached out to me. He asked me to allow him to point me to on-campus resources that would help me thrive, not just survive. He found opportunities for me to become a leader. I came to realize that the institution was just as much mine as everyone else's. That is when I understood that inclusion and diversity strategies are absolutely transformational.”
He describes his new role at LSU Health New Orleans as “the intersection of my previous work and interests,” which includes his most recent position as the Chief of Staff and Special Assistant to the Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at Auburn University.
Dr. Fair has been using his first weeks in the position to go on a “listening tour” and to meet his institutional peers, have conversations with all the Deans, attend town halls, identify the diversity champions on campus, and understand the experience of different groups here.
“Different groups experience an organization differently,” he noted. “I have been really heartened by the momentum I am seeing - in the Schools, by the Deans, and the institution's commitment to ensuring greater inclusion.”
He added, “I have the luxury of thinking about this work all the time. Everyone else has to wear other hats. I have nothing but gratitude to the leadership who invested in inclusion and diversity as important work."
Within the next five to 10 years, he hopes to have a diversity framework on campus that engages organizational partners in structured and healthy dialogue. “Transformative learning in diversity and inclusion occurs at the intersection of discomfort and delight. Unease is how we learn.”
Eventually, there will be an institutional plan for inclusion and diversity, but also each School will have its own inclusion plan with goals and strategies.
He hopes to elevate the capacity of anyone to embrace diversity in whatever role they have. In his past roles he has been able to help other institutions establish diversity as a core value. “When it is a core value it is inculcated into the fabric and not an ancillary effort,” he noted. “I am very excited to make LSU Health New Orleans even more inclusive.”
As for the broader New Orleans community, Dr. Fair had previously experienced it as a tourist. Now, as a resident, he finds it inclusive and incredibly diverse. “People here are very warm, welcoming, and endearing. They are interested in hearing about who you are and making time to develop relationships. The spirit of New Orleans and the resiliency of the people here - the stories of post-Katrina - this resilience is very attractive and I am excited to settle and make roots here.”