When DEI is Under Fire, How Can Higher Education Leaders Still Drive Institutional Change?

---

On May 27, Changing Higher Ed® podcast featured, Susan Sturm, author of What Might Be: Confronting Racism to Transform Our Institutions.

Listen below:

Sturm, author of What Might Be: Confronting Racism to Transform Our Institutions, reframes DEI as a long-term, systems-level strategy rooted in leadership, trust, and organizational learning. She introduces the concept of “full participation,” where individuals from all backgrounds can thrive and contribute to the institution’s mission—and outlines the leadership mindsets and practices necessary to build that reality.

Through examples from UMBC, Theater of Change, and court systems, Sturm shows how change begins with local experimentation, paradox navigation, and support for “organizational catalysts” who bridge across roles and perspectives. She also explores how discomfort, conflict, and even failure can become engines for cultural learning—if leaders are willing to embrace vulnerability and complexity.

You can also listen on Spotify podcast.