Diversity in Universities
The future leaders of the world could not be prepared without a proper example. Dean Balaji Rajagopalan from the College of Business of Northern Illinois University is exactly that.
Balaji comes from the Southern part of India and says he comes from very humble beginnings. He migrated to the U.S in 1989 to further his education.
“Many come with aspirations and ambitions but also come from very humble backgrounds,” he said.
According to him, the University he works for strives to keep the school audience as diverse as possible.
“We wanted to make sure that our efforts and initiatives were relevant and impactful for every student that joined the cultural business not for a select fee,” Balaji said.
He believes public education is an essential when it comes to creating future leaders but also conscious citizens. Because the purpose is to have a better understanding of society, everyone must be represented.
“We can’t prepare the leaders of tomorrow without the ability for them to understand people with different perspectives, people with different backgrounds,” he said.
Balaji added, social justice and equality are important topics of conversation educational institutions must have in order to keep diversity as a priority.
“We have to have the difficult conversations, we should embrace and educate our students. Diversity also means empowering voices that perhaps have been suppressed for a long period of time. Listening to those voices and acting on them . Educating minds and hearts,” he said.
Balaji said by having different perspectives, students are able to be aware of what others are going through and essentially become better people.
In business, by having more diverse people the more creative ideas can occur, he added. Because of the pandemic, the way the university usually works has now changed. Balaji said they are now focusing on delivering the same message and energy through technology. For instance, Zoom has now become a great tool.
“We miss face-to-face but we can create that engagement by virtual means. It is different but the point is we can find ways to engage students in virtual seminars far more than in the past,” he said.
“It has placed some challenges but also opportunities,” Balaji said.
He believes technology is an essential tool for learning and is here to stay for years to come. The way students are now adapting to the pandemic brought a new learning model which has changed every- thing, not only education. Balaji says the idea learning stops at some point should be forgotten and the constant want and need of absorbing learning should be a part of the dna of leaders.
“That is the only way that they can lead organizations,”he said. Another tip he has for future leaders is to have an optimistic outlook on life and the challenges it may throw.
“Leaders have to have a positive approach, they are going to be challenged in many ways but it is their approach that will make all the difference,” Balaji said.
Two other traits he added were integrity and the ability of having a transformative mind. Balaji mentioned even asking a question of why and challenging the status quo can make a huge difference. To add to the topic Balaji said caring about others is important to be able to provide a good to the world.
“It is not enough for them to simply talk about it but they have to be authentic and care about the people around them. They have to be rolemodels,”hesaid.
Understanding and accepting failure, is also a piece of advice he talks about to lead an organization and become a proper leader.
Balaji was asked his thoughts on standardized testing and its importance as a way of selecting students. Though he understands the use of them, he said those tests do not necessarily embody the intelligence of a student as a whole.
“There is research that shows that the students that come from disadvantaged backgrounds are disproportionately challenged by standardized tests,” he said.
“Our university's decision is set in the context of continuing to serve the group we have committed ourselves to serve,” Balaji said.
Circling back to the topic of diversity, Balaji mentioned besides their student population being one of the most diverse, there are campus organizations who support the cultural exchange.
“We have an excellent Latino resource center on campus that serves the entire NIU community,” he said.
“We have a student organization, ALPHA which is the Latino Professional in the college of business led by one of our faculty members. It is one of the most active organizations and engage with high school students and it exemplifies how we can partner with students and be a partner in supporting them,” Balaji said.
He added it is by creating opportunities such as this organization and resources, students in college of business can be successful and the diversity the school promotes can be supported with evidence.
For future projects, the university is working on an innovation creativity lab where Balaji said brainstorming will be enhanced.
“It is one of the most exciting projects, we have a vision to embrace the idea of experimentation of ideas and creativity,” he said.
“Some of these ideas might turn into real businesses, we have created an entrepreneurial mindset in our students,” Balaji said.
Finally, work ethic, resilience and the ability to adapt are key traits Balaji considers are helpful when it comes to becoming a business lead- er. Regardless of knowledge, those three are essential to succeed.
“One of the alums was asked by a student, what do you do when something didn't work for you and he said I just worked twice as hard,” he said.
“As we look at what is happening in the world and the changes we have to open to change because the world is changing,” Balaji said.