DEAR BI CAREER CONSULTANTS:
I am contemplating accepting a position as a minority affairs
coordinator at a traditionally White institution. It is rumored that
such positions can be dead-end career busters. Are there conditions or
considerations that I should insist on before accepting the position?
DR. CHARLES D. MOODY SR.
Vice Provost Emeritus, University of Michigan Founder, National Alliance of Black School Educators
Any position has the potential of being a dead-end career buster.
Additionally, your effectiveness in any position and the development of
a constituency base will do more to advance your career than the
position itself.
However, some questions you may want to ask include: Are you viewed
as a gatekeeper or a gate opener? Are you to justify the actions of the
institution in dealing with issues of equity and diversity or are you
an advocate for people of color?
It is also important to understand the principles of planned change
because you will be an agent of change. Change is painful and part of
the job will involve changing the institutional culture.
