NYSID Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commission (DEI)

Formation of the NYSID Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commission (DEI)

Leyden Lewis

Cheryl Durst

Jennifer Melendez

For years, NYSID has been reaching out to its alumni, trustees, and friends in the industry for informal discussions about how to make interior design education—and by extension the profession—more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Over the summer, President David Sprouls invited trustee Cheryl Durst and interested faculty members, staff members, advisors, and alumni to form a new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commission. Faculty member Leyden Lewis and registrar Jennifer Melendez stepped up beside Durst to co-chair the Commission. Neither President Sprouls nor any of the other leaders of the College sit on the Commission, because the point is to provide independent, actionable guidance. The group is diverse in terms of race, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, and ethnicity. According to its mission statement, “The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission is tasked with and fully committed to advancing the school’s efforts to embed DEI and cultural competency as significant transformational forces in institution-wide culture, academic excellence, student life, and all aspects of the college’s outreach, engagement, and curriculum. . . . The vision is to set the educational precedent for the design community at large.”

“The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission is tasked with and fully committed to advancing the school’s efforts to embed DEI and cultural competency as significant transformational forces in institution-wide culture, academic excellence, student life, and all aspects of the college’s outreach, engagement, and curriculum. . . . The vision is to set the educational precedent for the design community at large.”