Dr. Khalilah Marbury is the new Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Student Affairs. Photo by Darcy Leber.
OLLIE FITZGERALD | STAFF REPORTER | ofitzgerald@butler.edu
Dr. Khalilah Marbury became Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and Student Affairs, a new position that replaced the former vice president of student affairs, Frank Ross. The position was merged to combine DEI work and student affairs work to create a campus environment where students from all walks of life can succeed.
THE BUTLER COLLEGIAN: Where did you receive your degrees and what did you study and focus on during your education?
KHALILAH MARBURY: I went to college at IUPUI, or IU-Indy, as it is called now. I got a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in sociology. After I realized that higher [education] was a thing — [the fact that] you could actually work on a college campus — I went back [to school] and pursued my master’s in student affairs, and then I got a PhD in student affairs through IU.
TBC: Did DEI work play a role in your time as a student?
KM: Absolutely. My undergraduate experience is actually what shaped me to want to do [DEI and student affairs] work. I was a first-generation college student when I started college. I was also a traditional-age student, but I was a parent. That is very different [than most students] — starting [college] at 18 years old and as a parent.
The inclusivity was very different for me being a first-generation [student], being low-income, being a parent and being a woman of color. All of those things influenced my experience because IUPUI is similar to Butler as a predominantly white institution. There were spaces where, because of the intersection of all my identities, I wasn’t experiencing the best I could as a college student.
TBC: When exactly and why did you get involved in DEI work?
KM: I was a young college student who, because of my varied identities, focused on varying populations. I realized just how different my experience was, and it took me a very long time as a student to understand, “How do I fit and where do I fit into this institution?” When I graduated, I worked in [Indianapolis] as a case manager for the Head Start program and then came back to IUPUI to work as a receptionist. The job that I started back in was helping students find scholarship dollars, and that was really important to me because it was the office that had given me a scholarship as a single parent. It was kind of like this full circle moment of how I received something from this office and now I’m able to come back in [and help others]. That just kicked off my love for improving the college experience for students who have varying circumstances and varying identities.
TBC: When did you start working at Butler and what led you to come work here?
KM: I officially started [working] at Butler on Sept. 12, 2022. I grew up steps from Hinkle Fieldhouse and the old school across from Hinkle was my elementary school. My great-grandmother was one of the founders of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority which was founded here in 1922. I was born and raised in Indianapolis and [my great-grandmother] raised me not far from Butler.
I was coming back with my sorority to celebrate our centennial, which is our 100-year anniversary, in the spring of 2022. They were awarding honorary doctorates to all seven of the founders. My great-grandmother, being one of the founders, was going to receive one of those, and I’m the only living legacy of [her] so I came to accept on her behalf. I was asked to provide, at that time, what was told to me were remarks. What I later found out was that I was one of the commencement speakers for that graduation. The May 2022 commencement speech is when I spoke to Butler in honor of my great-grandmother receiving that degree.
After [the ceremony], there was a reception, and I ended up having a conversation with President Danko informally. He [asked me] what I do, and I [explained] the work that I do down at IUPUI. I was an assistant vice chancellor for student diversity at IUPUI before coming [to Butler]. [Danko] was like, “Well, why aren’t you at Butler?” and I said, “I’ve never been offered an opportunity to be,” and he was like, “We need to meet.” So we ended up meeting over the next couple of weeks and started discussing the needs of the Butler campus in terms of broadening their strategic priority around diversity, equity and inclusion. Literally, it just happened after that.
TBC: Can you explain what your role as vice president for DEI and student affairs is and what do you do?
KM: My experiences have worked alongside student affairs and DEI my entire career. Diversity [comes] in all forms, and sometimes I think we automatically think of just race. When I talked about being a first-generation student, low income, whether or not you know if I am able-bodied, yeah, my gender identity, sexual orientation, all [are] elements of diversity and are the things that I’ve had to navigate and work through in my entire career. Here at Butler, it’s really awesome to be able to bring back two of my loves, which are holistically thinking about the student experience and how we improve that experience, [as well as] how we understand what our students are experiencing and doing that through a DEI lens. I see the work as extremely complimentary and necessary to truly create what we are calling a rich, seamless student experience. The role here allows me to do that, to be a bridge and be a connector with academic affairs, student affairs and all the units that ultimately are all here because of people like you students.
We can’t do anything without students, so I will continue to execute the strategic priority of DEI for the entire institution. It’s in our mission. Those things, the work that I have been able to do since 2022 will not fade. It’s a shared responsibility to do diversity, equity and inclusion work. Then within this new capacity, I get to take that and ensure that we’re using that DEI lens, and think about belonging, inclusivity and equity in all things that impact the student experience. That’s how I see the two roles and the work coming together.
TBC: Can you explain why your position exists and how Butler has changed it from the previous position that was held before you?
KM: President Danko shared a communication earlier this summer announcing a reconfiguration of the institution. One of the things that came out of that is, “How do we as an institution best work together and align ourselves so that we are impacting our students in the best way that we can?” It took three divisions and linked them together — academic affairs, DEI and student affairs — and we’re linking them together because they have the greatest work and impact on the student experience. The things that [students] experience inside the classroom and outside the classroom are all connected. For that purpose, these divisions are brought together under the umbrella of academic and student experiences to help us come together critically.
I work in great partnership with the provost and with academic affairs so that what [students] may be experiencing in the classroom, we can complement or [provide] support outside of the classroom — through student activities, through Greek life, through student health — and being able to take that back into where faculty can understand what life is like for a student outside of the classroom. That’s where this shared space is in this role. Again, diversity, equity and inclusion are all of our responsibilities and the goal is for all of us as faculty or student affairs practitioners to utilize that lens so that we are trying to be aware of every student’s needs and able to respond to those needs accordingly.
TBC: How do you intend to combine DEI and student affairs and what else do you plan to do in this role?
KM: It’s seeing the work through the lens of equity, inclusiveness and how we promote and encourage belonging for our students. I think it’s less about combining and more about complementing through the work that I’m able to do from a DEI lens, which encompasses understanding the campus climate, taking a look at that data, building opportunities for dialogue across differences and helping faculty and staff understand the role of equity and inclusive practices in all of our learners and each other as staff and faculty. Those things are fundamental parts of our work on campus that are mission-driven, purposeful and will continue to be executed.
DEI work complements student affairs work in that those [DEI] values that are connected to our mission are things that I want to empower our student affairs leaders to be able to think about. When [student affairs leaders] are thinking about student activities, I want them to think about, “Who am I excluding in this work? How do I make sure that this program meets the needs of various communities?” Our learners at Butler are very diverse and we want to be able to speak to that and notice that even if people seem to share the same identities, you still are different.
TBC: How can students get involved with DEI on campus?
KM: So many ways. One is to acknowledge that it’s a necessary part of our existence in our society and not run and be afraid. It’s just acknowledging that there are different people who have different experiences on this campus, and it’s important for us to consider them all and be mindful of them in everything that we’re doing.
When you’re in the classroom, ask those sorts of challenging, difficult questions so that you can encourage some conversation around differences. If you’re a student leader, develop programs, and invite other people and perspectives into those programs and opportunities to get involved and engaged. The DEI division does a ton of different programs and activities that we promote every month.
Grab a friend, go to something, and then, in the same vein, don’t be afraid to knock on the doors of your leadership and say, “Hey, I think we’re missing this [on campus].” I would love our students to see the institutional leaders as partners in the work and in how we advance and improve DEI across campus. I welcome the opportunity to meet and talk with students and be able to gain their insights. We have students who come from all walks of life on our campus and we want to be able to have you experience other lives, other identities and students. While you’re here you have that opportunity. I’m happy to help facilitate that when I can.
TBC: How would you like to see DEI improved on campus — by you, by leadership, or even by students?
KM: I want our campus to continue to live into our founding mission. It would be really cool if every student, every faculty member and every staff member really understood the deep history of Butler University and was able to say, “I came to this institution, and I will leave this institution understanding the importance of equity, inclusivity and dialogue across differences.” [I want them to] be able to live and work in a pluralistic society and have care for people, even through differences of perspectives and opinions. [I want] you to be proud of [going to Butler and] you can say “I went to Butler because Ovid Butler was an abolitionist and he stood for equity and inclusivity, and through every experience and opportunity that I had on the Butler campus.” Whether inside the classroom, through the professors, through the curriculum, through the experiences of BCR and ICR and through staff and faculty who can look at you and not see you as [another student], but see you as a whole person. That’s to me what the ideal would be, for the founding mission of the institution to be lived to its fullest.
