Authenticity: Aligning the Online Message w/ the On-Campus Feel

WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.879 --> 00:00:07.190 You are listening to the Higher Ed Marketer, a podcast geared towards marketing professionals 2 00:00:07.230 --> 00:00:11.910 in higher education. This show will tackle all sorts of questions related to student 3 00:00:11.949 --> 00:00:16.230 recruitment, don'tor relations, marketing trends, new technologies and so much more. 4 00:00:16.989 --> 00:00:20.789 If you are looking for conversations centered around where the industry is going, this 5 00:00:20.989 --> 00:00:30.420 podcast is for you. Let's get into the show. Welcome to the Higher 6 00:00:30.420 --> 00:00:34.979 Ed Marketer podcast, where, each week we bring interesting people within the Higher 7 00:00:34.979 --> 00:00:40.649 Ed Marketing Community to you to share ideas and hopefully spur new things in your 8 00:00:40.729 --> 00:00:44.810 world for the better met of the community. Today I have someone, I 9 00:00:45.210 --> 00:00:47.969 should say we have someone. Sorry, barred, for kicking you to the 10 00:00:48.090 --> 00:00:53.200 curve. We have someone that I have been a fan of for a while. 11 00:00:53.640 --> 00:00:56.640 He's from the University of Dayton, the city that I live in, 12 00:00:57.600 --> 00:01:02.039 donel wiggins, who's the associate vice president of strategic enrollment management and Dean of 13 00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:06.269 admission that the University of Dayton, and I first was introduced to this young 14 00:01:06.390 --> 00:01:11.469 man through a Ted x Dayton speech that kind of went viral locally, where 15 00:01:11.469 --> 00:01:19.060 he was very authentic and very passionate and shared his background with Dyslexia, and 16 00:01:19.219 --> 00:01:23.780 how that transformed into his passion for Higher Ed and making sure that people like 17 00:01:23.939 --> 00:01:30.260 him, first generation students, had people that believed in him and then, 18 00:01:30.340 --> 00:01:34.730 as I followed him, realize that he's doing great things for the university and 19 00:01:34.890 --> 00:01:38.650 thought he would be an excellent person to have a conversation with. So today 20 00:01:38.689 --> 00:01:42.890 we get to talk about authenticity and some other things that University of daton is 21 00:01:42.969 --> 00:01:47.879 doing here locally. Yeah, I think it's a great conversation and troy, 22 00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:51.120 you kind of really set it in summarize it very well. Is that Danielle 23 00:01:51.159 --> 00:01:53.640 has a passion for and what he's doing. You can get that, you 24 00:01:53.719 --> 00:01:57.200 can sense that as he talks. But he also has a passion for authenticity 25 00:01:57.280 --> 00:02:00.870 and really living out what we believe and making sure that comes out in our 26 00:02:00.909 --> 00:02:05.189 marketing, whether that's through our website, whether that's in the way that we, 27 00:02:05.670 --> 00:02:07.830 you know, lead enrollment and the way that we lead the messaging and 28 00:02:07.870 --> 00:02:13.629 the conversations, just everything about authenticity, even down to how we live out 29 00:02:13.629 --> 00:02:17.340 our beliefs with you know, especially like a school like University of Dayton, 30 00:02:17.419 --> 00:02:22.939 Catholic marianist institution, many of our schools that a lot of you that are 31 00:02:22.979 --> 00:02:24.539 listening the ones that I work with, the Troy works with. A lot 32 00:02:24.580 --> 00:02:30.689 of them are faith based and we have this belief in diversity and equity and 33 00:02:30.770 --> 00:02:34.969 inclusion. We believe in that. DONELL talks a lot about how to authentically 34 00:02:34.969 --> 00:02:38.250 live that out and make that a part of of the campus life, and 35 00:02:38.330 --> 00:02:40.250 so it's a great conversation. I'm looking forward to hearing more about it. 36 00:02:40.770 --> 00:02:47.039 Let's bring donell into the conversation. It is my pleasure to welcome into the 37 00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:53.000 podcast Donnell Wiggins, associated vice as president for strategic enrollment management and the dean 38 00:02:53.080 --> 00:02:58.159 of admissions at the University of Dayton, and I must say I'm a fan 39 00:02:58.199 --> 00:03:01.349 of this young man. He's local here, so I've seen him on social 40 00:03:01.349 --> 00:03:06.389 media and it's a treat to have a conversation with him. Good afternoon, 41 00:03:06.469 --> 00:03:08.949 doneel. Good afternoon, Jory. How are you doing today? You know 42 00:03:09.110 --> 00:03:13.939 I'm doing great. We're looking forward to our conversation with you. Before we 43 00:03:14.020 --> 00:03:15.699 get into it, could you give us a little bit about you and your 44 00:03:15.780 --> 00:03:20.939 role at the University of Dayton? Yes, sir, again, my name 45 00:03:20.939 --> 00:03:23.780 is done wiggins. A service as social vice president for strateging and Roman management 46 00:03:24.099 --> 00:03:29.169 and dean of admission and really have the pleasure of overseeing our recruitment and a 47 00:03:29.210 --> 00:03:36.090 mission operation at the University of Dayton for undergraduate students, both domestically and internationally, 48 00:03:36.129 --> 00:03:38.370 as well as our transfer students, and so it really is an honor 49 00:03:38.449 --> 00:03:43.800 and privilege to help students get to college and really create a pathway for them, 50 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:46.439 whatever journey they may be on as a first time freshman, as a 51 00:03:46.520 --> 00:03:51.439 transfer student, as an international student. So it is really an honor and 52 00:03:51.560 --> 00:03:55.430 privilege to be with you all today. Thanks for now. It's wonderful to 53 00:03:55.509 --> 00:03:59.909 have you here. Really looking forward to our conversation. I know that when 54 00:03:59.949 --> 00:04:01.430 we kind of did the pre interview we talked about a number of different things 55 00:04:01.469 --> 00:04:04.710 and I think that one thing that we discovered that the three of us are 56 00:04:04.710 --> 00:04:11.099 all firsten students and sometimes having that in context with a lot of our conversation 57 00:04:11.219 --> 00:04:13.860 is important. But I think that one of the things that really stuck out 58 00:04:13.860 --> 00:04:17.259 in our initial conversations was this idea of specially now that the pandemic has happened 59 00:04:17.300 --> 00:04:24.100 and you know, a lot of people are used to virtual online there's still 60 00:04:24.220 --> 00:04:30.529 this importance of being able to really kind of sell this four year college experience 61 00:04:30.610 --> 00:04:34.170 the full four year college experience, and I think that this idea of doing 62 00:04:34.250 --> 00:04:36.889 that is something that I think more and more schools have to grapple with, 63 00:04:38.050 --> 00:04:41.439 because I think we've taken it for granted, honestly, for so long that, 64 00:04:41.759 --> 00:04:45.879 especially campuses that are traditional in that like like U D and and other 65 00:04:45.959 --> 00:04:48.040 ones that have beautiful campus as. They have the resources, they have everything 66 00:04:48.120 --> 00:04:54.750 online. There's so much about the importance of full for your experience that I 67 00:04:54.870 --> 00:04:57.550 think we don't want to miss. So tell me a little bit about your 68 00:04:57.589 --> 00:05:00.829 feelings on that and how how you're trying to communicate that to your perspective students. 69 00:05:00.870 --> 00:05:03.509 Yeah, absolutely. You know, I think one of the things that 70 00:05:03.670 --> 00:05:10.899 we're at this inflection point and higher education where we as institutions must ensure that 71 00:05:11.060 --> 00:05:15.220 we are highlighting our value proposition in a way that connects with families and students. 72 00:05:15.259 --> 00:05:20.180 And so many families are making decisions not just based on those typical things 73 00:05:20.220 --> 00:05:24.610 that we've seen before in the past, but they're also looking at a variety 74 00:05:24.610 --> 00:05:28.689 of things from a coca rickular standpoint. How will my mental health be manage 75 00:05:28.769 --> 00:05:32.209 how will, you know, my sense of belonging come through as it pertains 76 00:05:32.250 --> 00:05:36.040 to a community. Many families have a variety of options. Now they have 77 00:05:36.160 --> 00:05:40.399 the option to maybe get a certificate and maybe get a skill or trait, 78 00:05:40.879 --> 00:05:44.600 and so we, as institute two she's, must be really diligent in terms 79 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:49.230 of making sure that our communication strategy really aligns with the on campus experience. 80 00:05:49.310 --> 00:05:55.149 And that's from a digital perspective. So how do we communicate digitally to our 81 00:05:55.310 --> 00:05:58.709 families on the web and do we do that in the same way when they're 82 00:05:58.750 --> 00:06:02.829 on campus in person? And so it's so essential that we are aligning the 83 00:06:02.990 --> 00:06:06.740 message that we have on the web with on campus as well. And I 84 00:06:08.139 --> 00:06:13.740 and I think it's important that we as institutions highlight who we are not stray 85 00:06:13.819 --> 00:06:16.459 away from it. And so at the University of dating we're Catholic maryings institution 86 00:06:16.660 --> 00:06:20.449 committed to developing the whole person, and so we are true to that in 87 00:06:20.529 --> 00:06:25.490 our communication. We're true to that when students come on campus and it's just 88 00:06:25.649 --> 00:06:29.129 so important that those messages line up really well for each other. And so 89 00:06:29.610 --> 00:06:32.959 the four year experience is crucial and we're at a point where, you know, 90 00:06:33.079 --> 00:06:36.399 some people don't feel like higher education is worth it. And as a 91 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:42.399 first generation college student, I can absolutely positively tell you that higher education is 92 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:46.519 worth it and we as institutions have to do a better job of making sure 93 00:06:46.560 --> 00:06:50.990 that our value and our mission lineup with our actions, particularly online as well 94 00:06:51.029 --> 00:06:55.110 as in person. That's great, and I guess I'm curious when you talk 95 00:06:55.149 --> 00:06:58.750 about the fact that you know the digital world has to match up with the 96 00:06:58.790 --> 00:07:01.060 culture of the physical world, the real world, how do you guys do 97 00:07:01.180 --> 00:07:03.779 that with University of dating? Like the website? I mean so many people 98 00:07:03.779 --> 00:07:08.740 I talk about. Okay, the website is the first and foremost impression that 99 00:07:08.819 --> 00:07:11.019 people are going to have on your campus. I mean, you know they're 100 00:07:11.100 --> 00:07:15.220 going to discover you through the web. They're going to either then, I 101 00:07:15.379 --> 00:07:17.089 often like to tell people that you know, either they're going to discover you 102 00:07:17.129 --> 00:07:21.370 or they're going to authenticate what they've heard about you, and if a website 103 00:07:21.449 --> 00:07:27.449 is in discongruency with with that of what they've heard or that of what they're 104 00:07:27.490 --> 00:07:30.279 expecting, there's a problem. So how does the school like you did, 105 00:07:30.399 --> 00:07:33.879 I mean your larger institution, how do you kind of maintain that authenticity on 106 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:40.360 the website? Absolutely one of the things is anytime you're doing any managing of 107 00:07:40.439 --> 00:07:43.079 the website. You have to be diligent to make sure that it's up to 108 00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:48.029 date on a regular basis and oftentime and many institutions nobody's checking the website. 109 00:07:48.189 --> 00:07:51.629 You have checked the website in a year. We haven't checked it in six 110 00:07:51.750 --> 00:07:58.660 months, and so it's so important that every three to six months institutions are 111 00:07:58.660 --> 00:08:03.819 updated websites. Many, many students are using the website as a first line 112 00:08:03.860 --> 00:08:07.819 of defense and it is the first point of contact. And so not only 113 00:08:07.899 --> 00:08:11.459 is it the first one of contact, but it's the follow up point of 114 00:08:11.500 --> 00:08:15.209 contact, because after I came to campus, I don't want to verify what 115 00:08:15.370 --> 00:08:18.730 I saw on campus or what I heard on campus is also on the website. 116 00:08:20.170 --> 00:08:24.250 So it's essential that institutions are paying close attention to their website, but 117 00:08:24.370 --> 00:08:31.159 not only from a mission perspective, but then also from a faculty perspective as 118 00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:35.759 well as in other areas throughout campus, Co curricular. So one of the 119 00:08:35.879 --> 00:08:41.950 things that we did is spending significant amount of time with our faculty members and 120 00:08:41.110 --> 00:08:50.190 are in our academic units saying how can we strategically align our academic websites with 121 00:08:50.190 --> 00:08:54.990 our recruiting in emission website from the standpoint of how do we make sure that 122 00:08:54.110 --> 00:09:00.779 our academic websites are sufficient for external audience, and that external audience is our 123 00:09:01.419 --> 00:09:05.899 first year students, are transfer students, are international students, and so making 124 00:09:05.980 --> 00:09:11.289 sure that we have the same message is just so critical and not having the 125 00:09:11.409 --> 00:09:16.850 same message shows that there's a disconnect. And so really spending that time with 126 00:09:16.250 --> 00:09:20.889 your faculty, really spending time with, you know, other academic units, 127 00:09:22.009 --> 00:09:26.039 other units on campus, from your co curricular entities that you may work with 128 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:31.000 on campus, student development and other entities, to ensure that everybody understands that 129 00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:35.679 recruitment and enrollment is everybody's shop. And so how do we align our website 130 00:09:35.720 --> 00:09:43.029 in a way that positions the institution to help everyone across campus knows that recruitment 131 00:09:43.029 --> 00:09:48.029 and enrollment is everyone's job, because you never know when you as a faculty 132 00:09:48.110 --> 00:09:50.110 member, you as a staff member, you as an administrator, will walk 133 00:09:50.149 --> 00:09:54.539 in that grocery store or walk in that department store and someone sees that ud 134 00:09:54.700 --> 00:09:58.460 shirt. How you engage with them, how you connect with them, is 135 00:09:58.500 --> 00:10:01.419 really so important. Did that student, Michael, back to the website right, 136 00:10:01.460 --> 00:10:05.340 and so it's just the website is so important in the age of JEN 137 00:10:05.340 --> 00:10:11.450 Z in the age of digital media, we have to do I'll standing job 138 00:10:11.490 --> 00:10:15.490 as institution making sure that that message is carry through. I love that. 139 00:10:15.610 --> 00:10:18.250 I love that because I've I've often talked to schools. I mean I did 140 00:10:18.529 --> 00:10:20.049 helped with my first website with my Alma materern in one thousand nine hundred and 141 00:10:20.090 --> 00:10:24.200 ninety seven. So that kind of shows how old I am. But I 142 00:10:24.360 --> 00:10:26.879 think that the one of the things that you know, back then, a 143 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:30.639 lot of times the website grew out of the advancement in the development office because 144 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:33.639 it was like an extension of the alumni magazine. And so you know audience 145 00:10:33.799 --> 00:10:37.190 is. Back then we're kind of this mix match of well, we're talking 146 00:10:37.309 --> 00:10:41.470 to the alumni and we're talking to the donors and maybe the students. And 147 00:10:43.029 --> 00:10:46.269 but I think in the last few years it's become so critical that everybody needs 148 00:10:46.309 --> 00:10:50.179 to be aligned on enrollment, especially with self applicants and and just the challenge 149 00:10:50.179 --> 00:10:54.179 of being able to get the students these days, because, I mean the 150 00:10:54.299 --> 00:10:56.259 students can find a lot of information out and they're never on the on the 151 00:10:56.340 --> 00:11:01.259 radar of a school many times until they apply. And so it's still critical 152 00:11:01.340 --> 00:11:05.730 that everything they need to get that experience and self identify as on the web 153 00:11:05.850 --> 00:11:07.649 and it has to be from an enrollment standpoint. So I think those are 154 00:11:07.730 --> 00:11:11.769 some great, great perspectives. Thank you, Donald. Yeah, thank you 155 00:11:11.809 --> 00:11:16.769 for agree one hundred percent. Donel the piggyback on reasons why you should have 156 00:11:16.049 --> 00:11:22.240 a great presence online is I believe you said that for this incoming class of 157 00:11:22.360 --> 00:11:26.360 freshman, upwards of thirty percent of them have never set foot on Ud's campus. 158 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:31.480 Could you kind of explain that? Yeah, absolutely, Try and it's 159 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:39.149 quite interesting because we're living in unique times and so students are strategically evaluating institutions, 160 00:11:39.629 --> 00:11:46.190 you know, on campus, from a standpoint of virtually virtually on campus. 161 00:11:46.309 --> 00:11:50.139 And so they've evaluated US based on our virtual experience. They've evaluated as 162 00:11:50.179 --> 00:11:54.659 based on our website and then our virtual events and programming is that we did 163 00:11:54.740 --> 00:11:58.299 over the past yere and so, as we see, many institutions have to 164 00:11:58.379 --> 00:12:03.090 quickly adapt to the virtual experience. Many students have decided that, you know, 165 00:12:03.169 --> 00:12:05.690 because of the pandemic, I'm unsure if I want to set foot on 166 00:12:05.809 --> 00:12:09.690 campus. Some of them have decided because of their family situations they may not 167 00:12:09.769 --> 00:12:15.330 be able to get to campus financially. Some of them just don't have the 168 00:12:15.450 --> 00:12:18.440 bandwidth because of their schedule, because of all the things are involved in, 169 00:12:18.519 --> 00:12:22.399 or maybe because they live across country and are unable to get to campus. 170 00:12:22.519 --> 00:12:26.759 And so what we found is that many students use our website, are virtual 171 00:12:26.919 --> 00:12:30.750 tool, and many of our other platforms, from our events, to decide 172 00:12:31.149 --> 00:12:33.389 whether or not the university date is a good fit for them. And so 173 00:12:35.149 --> 00:12:41.269 this mantra of not visiting campus isn't going anywhere. Many families are going to 174 00:12:41.350 --> 00:12:46.539 evaluate institutions based on their website, based on their virtual experience, based on 175 00:12:46.700 --> 00:12:50.460 virtual opportunities, and so we as institutions, must and shoot or that we 176 00:12:50.620 --> 00:12:56.580 have a platform set up that families can truly evaluate who we are in order 177 00:12:56.620 --> 00:13:00.690 to make sound decisions. And we're blessed of the University of Dayton that students 178 00:13:00.690 --> 00:13:03.769 were able to do just that. They were able to evaluate us and say, 179 00:13:03.769 --> 00:13:05.690 you know what, I'm not able to step foot on campus, but 180 00:13:05.769 --> 00:13:09.490 I've seen enough and I know enough and I've been engaged enough with faculty, 181 00:13:09.570 --> 00:13:13.960 staff and administration, and particularly the recruitment in the mission team, to make 182 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:18.720 a decision to attend the University of Dayton. And so we have to continue 183 00:13:18.799 --> 00:13:24.039 to make sure that our digital presidence is that is really one of the best 184 00:13:24.039 --> 00:13:26.789 things that we can offer the students and families across the country. Well, 185 00:13:26.870 --> 00:13:31.429 I think you must be successful at it, because I've read that the incoming 186 00:13:31.669 --> 00:13:35.669 class is the largest in, you know, the few the University of Dayton's 187 00:13:35.710 --> 00:13:41.110 history. Is that correct? It is, and so we're really excited about, 188 00:13:41.539 --> 00:13:45.379 you know, the income and freshman class and really are overall class that 189 00:13:45.460 --> 00:13:48.700 we brought in from first year students to transfer to international students. And so, 190 00:13:50.179 --> 00:13:54.580 you know, there was some uncertainty, as for many institutions last year, 191 00:13:54.700 --> 00:13:56.250 just given the environment, giving all the things that we have to go 192 00:13:56.370 --> 00:14:01.370 to. But again, you know, we really were very diligent about making 193 00:14:01.370 --> 00:14:05.049 sure that our digital presence was key and it lined up with our own campus 194 00:14:05.210 --> 00:14:09.279 experience and so we wanted to make sure that we did everything we can to 195 00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:13.279 meet students where they are, to understand that this was a difficult year for 196 00:14:13.399 --> 00:14:16.399 them, that they maybe didn't get to go to that high school prom at 197 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:22.559 high school homecoming, they were doing learning virtually, and so really understanding all 198 00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:26.230 of the different impacts and challenges that they face throughout this year, but to 199 00:14:26.350 --> 00:14:31.309 really be intentional, to create a strong sense of belonging, I believe really 200 00:14:31.350 --> 00:14:35.309 allowed us to have a record class this year. That's great, that's so 201 00:14:35.470 --> 00:14:39.860 encouraging. Yes, also, it wasn't only the largest, but I also 202 00:14:39.980 --> 00:14:45.940 believe it was the most diverse. And I think you just mentioned meeting students 203 00:14:45.980 --> 00:14:50.899 where they are, and I believe that diversity is something that you are diving 204 00:14:50.940 --> 00:14:54.889 into a little deeper than maybe others have had in the past, or maybe 205 00:14:54.929 --> 00:14:58.649 there's an emphasis. I don't want to go speak too much for you, 206 00:14:58.850 --> 00:15:01.690 but could you let us know some of the work that either you or the 207 00:15:01.769 --> 00:15:07.360 campus is doing in order to attract and have a focus on diversity and inclusion? 208 00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:11.120 Absolutely, yeah, the University of dating, as a Catholic maryness institution, 209 00:15:11.320 --> 00:15:16.080 is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion and it is it's truly represents 210 00:15:16.120 --> 00:15:20.120 who we are as a Catholic marianess institution. And so why is that important? 211 00:15:20.120 --> 00:15:24.429 Because what we know is that diversity represents excellence. So the more diversity 212 00:15:24.509 --> 00:15:28.549 that we have on campus, the more excellent we will be as an institution. 213 00:15:30.149 --> 00:15:31.909 And so, under the leadership of our president, Dr Er expin and 214 00:15:31.990 --> 00:15:37.419 we've been very diligent to make sure that we have one, a plan that 215 00:15:37.580 --> 00:15:41.379 really outlines our strategic plan around diversity, equally inclusion. Right now, as 216 00:15:41.379 --> 00:15:48.820 an institution, we're going through having unit based diversity, equity and inclusion strategic 217 00:15:48.940 --> 00:15:54.409 plan by unit, all seventeen different units on campus really leading the charge to 218 00:15:54.570 --> 00:15:58.090 make sure that we're meeting the needs of the time and really meeting the needs 219 00:15:58.169 --> 00:16:02.250 of students, knowing that, you know, diversity is really essential to who 220 00:16:02.250 --> 00:16:06.000 we are, but it's also essential because our world is changing, that we 221 00:16:06.080 --> 00:16:08.559 live in and continues to change, and we want to be able to connect 222 00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:14.159 with all students. So those two things are happening. We also are very 223 00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:19.669 diligent about becoming an anti racist institution, eliminating racist practices that may have existed 224 00:16:21.149 --> 00:16:23.830 through our history, through our time as an institution, and because of that, 225 00:16:25.110 --> 00:16:27.870 many of us we have eleven steps as an institution. That number one 226 00:16:29.269 --> 00:16:32.899 we have committed to, and one of those steps is becoming a more diverse 227 00:16:33.019 --> 00:16:37.700 institution through our recruitment and enrollment strategies. And so over the last five years 228 00:16:37.740 --> 00:16:42.860 we've been very diligent about becoming more strategic about how we recruit students, how 229 00:16:42.899 --> 00:16:48.809 we engage with students and making sure that we eliminate barriers that would impede students 230 00:16:48.850 --> 00:16:52.090 from choosing the University of dating and really finding that strong sense of belonging. 231 00:16:52.210 --> 00:16:56.730 In addition to that, the recruitment and a mission team has been significant amount 232 00:16:56.730 --> 00:17:03.519 of time having monthly dialogs around becoming an anti racist institution and what does that 233 00:17:03.600 --> 00:17:07.079 mean for our work as an institution? What does that mean for us as 234 00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:11.880 a recruitment and the mission enrollment staff and how do we engage with students across 235 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:17.349 the country across the world? And so what we've seen is the fruits of 236 00:17:17.390 --> 00:17:22.869 that Labor has really paid off in terms of how students and families evaluate the 237 00:17:22.910 --> 00:17:26.230 University of Dayton. So, over the over this time we've been really diligent 238 00:17:26.470 --> 00:17:32.180 to do everything we can to ensure that we are connecting with families where intentional 239 00:17:32.339 --> 00:17:36.539 that were becoming more of an inclusive campus, and a part of that is 240 00:17:36.660 --> 00:17:40.900 making sure that, you know, everybody value diversity, equity inclusion. So 241 00:17:40.980 --> 00:17:45.569 it's not just historically underrepresented families, but it's all of our families and really 242 00:17:45.609 --> 00:17:48.930 enlighting families to see the value of diversity and how it makes us better as 243 00:17:48.930 --> 00:17:52.970 an institution, but I'll be the first to tell you we made significant strides 244 00:17:53.089 --> 00:17:56.210 and we're we've done a lot of great things, but they're still more work 245 00:17:56.289 --> 00:18:00.680 to be done and so as we move towards the future, we're going to 246 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:04.480 continue to push forward. We're going to continue to have high level conversations at 247 00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:08.640 the president's cabinet level, but then also in the classroom with students, also 248 00:18:10.039 --> 00:18:12.950 in the office, with administration and staff, and so we're doing everything we 249 00:18:14.029 --> 00:18:17.990 can to continue to grow as an institution and continue to learn, but also 250 00:18:18.109 --> 00:18:21.029 continue to meet the needs of the time to make sure that we are a 251 00:18:21.150 --> 00:18:25.670 campus that embraces diversity, equity and inclusion at a high level. I love 252 00:18:25.789 --> 00:18:27.500 that, Dunnell, and I think that it's so important because I meet with 253 00:18:27.579 --> 00:18:32.259 a lot of schools, and especially I think this ends up a smaller schools 254 00:18:32.339 --> 00:18:37.539 and sometimes smaller faith based schools who recognize that it's this is an important thing. 255 00:18:37.539 --> 00:18:40.059 I mean, this is certainly a part of our faith and a part 256 00:18:40.099 --> 00:18:41.529 of who we are and what we want to be. I mean you kind 257 00:18:41.569 --> 00:18:45.130 of made that pretty clear with the Catholic Marianist, you know background. I 258 00:18:45.210 --> 00:18:48.170 mean, it's who we are and we want to live that out. But 259 00:18:48.250 --> 00:18:52.410 I think sometimes, and what I really appreciate about what you've been talking about, 260 00:18:52.410 --> 00:18:55.289 and maybe you can go in a little bit deeper with your monthly meetings 261 00:18:55.329 --> 00:19:00.039 with your staff and the intentionality internally, because it's one thing to say, 262 00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:06.480 well, we want to be a more diverse and equitable and inclusive campus and 263 00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:10.000 so let's try to recruit more of those types of students. Well, that's 264 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:12.549 a little bit backwards, because just because you have those students on campus does 265 00:19:12.589 --> 00:19:17.150 not make you a diverse, inclusive and an equitable campus. It's because you 266 00:19:17.630 --> 00:19:22.869 are already that and that that starts with recruiting staff and faculty that reflect who 267 00:19:22.869 --> 00:19:26.539 you want to be well before you start recruiting the students. And so tell 268 00:19:26.579 --> 00:19:29.500 me a little bit about that and how that plays out at Youd and and 269 00:19:29.660 --> 00:19:33.299 how those monthly intentional meetings, even internally, help change that as opposed to 270 00:19:33.380 --> 00:19:38.410 just trying to create a new enrollment strategy, if you will. Absolutely they're 271 00:19:38.490 --> 00:19:42.849 critical because, one, they're critical to creating a culture where we can have 272 00:19:44.289 --> 00:19:49.250 intentional conversations about things that are happening in higher education in our work that affect 273 00:19:49.289 --> 00:19:53.720 how we recruit students. That affect how students view us as an institution, 274 00:19:55.119 --> 00:20:00.920 and so we must create spaces in our offices are cross campus, or we 275 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.039 can have training and we can have true dialog to really live out the work. 276 00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:07.589 And it's not just even about living out the work and having dialog, 277 00:20:07.670 --> 00:20:11.630 but it's in about producing results. You know, diversifying our staff, it's 278 00:20:11.630 --> 00:20:18.230 about diversifying our faculty member it's about diversifying our administration, and the institution has 279 00:20:18.269 --> 00:20:22.819 done a good job of really aligning these metrics across campus two ensure that we 280 00:20:22.940 --> 00:20:26.019 do have more diverse staff, we do have more diverse faculty, we do 281 00:20:26.180 --> 00:20:30.700 have more diverse administration, because one can't go without the other, as you 282 00:20:30.819 --> 00:20:34.769 stated, barred, and so at the university dating we're committed to that and 283 00:20:36.009 --> 00:20:38.369 we're committed to that because that's of who we are, and so our Catholic 284 00:20:38.450 --> 00:20:44.569 married is values. Challenge us to live that out and while we've made some 285 00:20:44.730 --> 00:20:48.970 mistakes along the way and because we're not perfect, but we've done an outstanding 286 00:20:48.009 --> 00:20:52.880 job of challenging ourselves to continue to have the conversation, to continue to do 287 00:20:53.079 --> 00:20:56.640 the work, and we find ourselves in the monthly meetings, particularly with the 288 00:20:56.720 --> 00:21:03.309 recruitment and admission team identify key metrics and key incidents that maybe have happened. 289 00:21:03.910 --> 00:21:07.349 How do we address that? How do we navigate that? One student bring 290 00:21:07.430 --> 00:21:11.869 those questions to us, and that's critical because, you know, we're all 291 00:21:11.910 --> 00:21:18.190 at different places on this journey, but what we can do together is much 292 00:21:18.230 --> 00:21:22.259 greater than what we can do separately and we find ourselves having really great, 293 00:21:22.339 --> 00:21:27.539 intentional conversations that ultimately impact how we recruit all students, how we recruit students 294 00:21:27.819 --> 00:21:30.779 who are, you know, White and Caucasian, how we were crew students 295 00:21:30.819 --> 00:21:34.130 who are African, American, Malt tirads. We want everybody to see the 296 00:21:34.210 --> 00:21:38.809 value of diversity, equity and inclusion through the lands of the University of dating 297 00:21:38.849 --> 00:21:42.809 commitment to the common good. So it's great. It's really appreciate you sharing 298 00:21:42.890 --> 00:21:48.799 that and, as Bard said, there are many campuses that are facing that 299 00:21:48.119 --> 00:21:55.039 obstacle or looking on how to improve themselves within diversity and inclusion. As we 300 00:21:55.160 --> 00:21:59.960 close our conversation, we usually ask if there's a nugget or a tidbit something 301 00:22:00.039 --> 00:22:06.910 that you could offer that another admission professional could implement right away that has either 302 00:22:06.990 --> 00:22:10.990 been helpful or maybe, in theories, something that you're going to be applying 303 00:22:11.269 --> 00:22:15.740 shortly. Anything that you can share with us? Yeah, I think you 304 00:22:15.819 --> 00:22:19.579 know, one of the things that I've been telling you know, many teams 305 00:22:19.619 --> 00:22:22.940 and many entities that I work with, particularly our team, is that, 306 00:22:23.460 --> 00:22:27.500 you know, we're in a strategic inflection point. So it's going to require 307 00:22:27.500 --> 00:22:33.769 us to be flexible and so we as educators, particularly in higher education, 308 00:22:33.410 --> 00:22:38.650 have to have the ability to act, to change, excuse me, and 309 00:22:38.849 --> 00:22:45.480 really adapt to the current times. And so for too long we have allowed 310 00:22:45.599 --> 00:22:52.160 status coal behavior to lead us as institutions but then also impact our work, 311 00:22:52.839 --> 00:22:56.359 and so we're now in environment where time is on our side. You know, 312 00:22:56.440 --> 00:23:00.029 the pandemic taught us that, and so it's time for us to make 313 00:23:00.069 --> 00:23:03.630 sure that status qual work isn't acceptable and that we we make sure that the 314 00:23:03.710 --> 00:23:10.150 value of the institution matches up with the value of the work that we're delivering 315 00:23:10.269 --> 00:23:15.859 to students and families. So I just would encourage many of my colleagues across 316 00:23:15.900 --> 00:23:19.460 the country, across the world that we do everything we can to present the 317 00:23:19.619 --> 00:23:26.900 best experience possible for our families who are making a significant investment in our institutions, 318 00:23:26.250 --> 00:23:30.049 and we do that by being flexible. We do that being by being 319 00:23:30.089 --> 00:23:34.130 able to change. We do that by adapting to current situations and we do 320 00:23:34.250 --> 00:23:37.569 that by putting a smile on our face every time we get a chance to 321 00:23:37.650 --> 00:23:41.680 engage with them, and if we do, that will be much better for 322 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:45.160 our families, would be much better for our institutions and we'll see a lot 323 00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:48.720 of great things happen for many of us across the country. That is a 324 00:23:48.880 --> 00:23:52.880 great note to end on. Done Ell, thank you very much for your 325 00:23:52.960 --> 00:23:57.150 time and the wisdom that you shared. Someone would like to get in touch 326 00:23:57.190 --> 00:24:00.269 with you, what would the best way for them to do that be? 327 00:24:02.390 --> 00:24:04.910 Yeah, I would encourage you to connect with me on Linkedin. You know 328 00:24:04.990 --> 00:24:10.019 at Donielle wiggins on Linkedin and you'll you can definitely find me. That's a 329 00:24:10.059 --> 00:24:12.339 great way to connect. You should. You can also go to the University 330 00:24:12.339 --> 00:24:15.980 of dating website. If you go to meet the recruitment and emission team, 331 00:24:15.980 --> 00:24:19.579 you will find my picture and information there to connect with and I would love 332 00:24:19.619 --> 00:24:22.579 to connect with you and really get to know you and help in anyway I 333 00:24:22.700 --> 00:24:26.809 can, and I wish you all the best on your journey. I want 334 00:24:26.849 --> 00:24:30.890 to thank you, Chry and bar for having me this afternoon and I really 335 00:24:30.930 --> 00:24:34.009 appreciate the time it really appreciate connecting and talking with you both and look forward 336 00:24:34.009 --> 00:24:37.170 to doing it in the future. Again great, thank you. Thank you 337 00:24:37.410 --> 00:24:42.039 very much, bar do you have any parting words? Yeah, just a 338 00:24:42.079 --> 00:24:45.599 couple things that I wanted to kind of point out to everybody, and I 339 00:24:45.640 --> 00:24:49.359 guess if I'm going to put a title on this episode, it would be 340 00:24:49.680 --> 00:24:56.710 something around authenticity and enrollment, and I think that so much of what we 341 00:24:56.869 --> 00:24:59.910 talked about, whether it's the website and the importance of making sure that what 342 00:24:59.950 --> 00:25:03.150 we're communicating on the website, with the importance of the four year degree or 343 00:25:03.230 --> 00:25:08.099 the or the idea of making sure that the website is authentically representing the on 344 00:25:08.380 --> 00:25:12.940 campus experience, even down to the point of being authentic and what we say. 345 00:25:12.980 --> 00:25:18.900 We believe in authentic and what we're doing by really tackling this hard issue 346 00:25:19.059 --> 00:25:25.569 of diversity, equity and inclusion and making that part of our our daily life. 347 00:25:25.569 --> 00:25:27.769 I really love the point that done health pointed out with the idea that, 348 00:25:29.130 --> 00:25:30.569 you know, we put that smile on, we change, we make 349 00:25:30.690 --> 00:25:34.880 that a moment by moment type of thing, and so really that authenticity of 350 00:25:36.039 --> 00:25:38.359 making that a big part of everything that we're doing, in the way we 351 00:25:38.440 --> 00:25:41.960 present ourselves digitally, in the way way that people experiences when they arrive on 352 00:25:42.039 --> 00:25:45.880 campus, in the way that we live out our beliefs. I think is 353 00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:49.029 so important. So I really appreciate everything that Donne has said today and it's 354 00:25:49.069 --> 00:25:53.190 been an honor to have this conversation. Thank you, Bart. I'll also 355 00:25:53.349 --> 00:25:57.309 add that if our listeners would, if you would like to spend a wonderful 356 00:25:57.750 --> 00:26:02.829 ten minutes getting to know the character in person that donnel is, is to 357 00:26:03.750 --> 00:26:10.099 Google Donell wiggins, ted x Dayton and it'll show you the reason why he 358 00:26:10.140 --> 00:26:15.660 has a passion for higher education. The High Ed Marketer podcast is sponsored by 359 00:26:15.700 --> 00:26:21.450 Kaylor solutions and education marketing and branding agency and by Think, patented, a 360 00:26:21.569 --> 00:26:27.130 marketing, execution, printing and provider of mailing solutions to hire at institutions. 361 00:26:27.730 --> 00:26:32.609 On behalf of my cohost Bard Taylor, I'm troy singer. Thank you very 362 00:26:32.690 --> 00:26:37.400 much for joining us today. You've been listening to the Higher Ed Marketer. 363 00:26:38.119 --> 00:26:41.640 To ensure that you never miss an episode, subscribe to the show in your 364 00:26:41.680 --> 00:26:47.470 favorite podcast player. If you're listening with apple PODCASTS, we'd love for you 365 00:26:47.589 --> 00:26:51.069 to leave a quick rating of the show, simply tap the number of stars 366 00:26:51.109 --> 00:26:53.029 you think the podcast deserves. Until next time,