'It’s the right thing to do': why SFU President Joy Johnson wants to talk with you about equity, diversity and inclusion

Since the start of her term last September, SFU President Joy Johnson has been having conversations about equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) with groups and community members from across SFU—and she’s just getting started.

SFU News sat down with President Johnson to ask why these conversations are so important, what she’s been learning, and how community members can get involved.

SFU News: You’ve stated often that EDI and reconciliation are priorities for you during your presidency. Why did you make the decision to prioritize these two areas?

President Johnson: I identified EDI—and specifically anti-racism, which is included in this work but which I want to state clearly here—as a priority while I was being interviewed for this presidency and as I was coming into my role. This was before the pandemic, before the activity around Black Lives Matter in 2020. But these issues—racism and other inequities in our society—are now more acute than they’ve ever been. And because SFU is part of society, the attitudes that are held in society are reflected in our institution.

We’ve got work to do, and my view is that we’ve got to take that work head-on—to recognize the issues in front of us and think about ways in which our policies and practices might be creating barriers for segments of our community.

When it comes to reconciliation, I understand that it’s a privilege to be a white settler leading this institution. And SFU has obligations to recognize—not just the land we’re on, but also the relationships we need to forge with First Nations communities on whose lands SFU resides. I want to recognize the legacy of colonization, but also to move forward in a positive way—to restore our relationships with Indigenous communities, and think about how we can meaningfully build Indigenous perspectives into the university’s work.

All of this is a matter of justice. It’s the right thing to do. These things are part of SFU’s values, and we need to live up to our highest values.

Where did the idea for having EDI conversations come from, and how do these conversations fit into your overall goals for EDI at SFU?

I was privileged to help put together an EDI Advisory Council at SFU which is made up of faculty, staff and students, and the council has been very helpful in terms of providing advice to me about moving forward with EDI work. But if you think about the sheer diversity of voices at SFU, not all those voices are represented as part of the council.

This series of conversations was envisioned as part of a strategy for engaging with different groups at the university. As leader of this institution, I felt that I needed to take the time to really learn about various perspectives held by community members. I wanted to signal a willingness to listen, and more importantly, to think about how the concerns I’m hearing might be addressed as we move forward.

What does a typical EDI conversation look like?

That’s a little hard to answer because in my experience there isn’t a “typical” conversation—no two have been the same so far! Usually I’ll start these conversations by saying a bit about myself and why EDI matters to me, but after that, it’s up to the group I’m meeting with to steer the conversation and highlight the things they think are important.

My job is to be quiet and listen, which is hard sometimes, because I talk a lot! But I do my best to hear what the concerns are and really try to understand them, then reflect back what I’m hearing to make sure I’ve got everything right.

You’ve had several of these conversations over the past few months. What’s something you have learned so far?

Last December, I met with representatives from the SFU Disability and Neurodiversity Alliance, which is a student group on campus. They shared some challenges they’ve experienced when it comes to being fully engaged in learning at SFU, and one thing I learned was that we’ve been using Zoom as a platform for online learning, but didn’t have a live closed captioning function available.

When I say that to myself now, I’m like, “Are you kidding me?” These kinds of accommodations should be obvious to us, as a learning institution. Many students at SFU are hard of hearing, or prefer learning visually rather than auditorily. Sometimes it’s hearing that kind of practical insight that makes you realize, we’ve got to get this done. 

And I want to be transparent and say that I’m just one person—I can’t fix everything myself! It’s all of our job to address these issues. But as leader of the institution, it’s helpful to understand what the issues are. And often, even if I can’t do something directly, I can start conversations with the right people. In this case, I talked to IT Services and I’m happy to report that there is now a live transcription function available in Zoom.

What is a challenge that you still want to tackle when it comes to EDI at SFU?

My top-of-mind issue right now is anti-racism. In the weeks following the Dec. 11 event on our Burnaby campus, I heard from many community members who shared concerns around the event itself, as well as broader issues related to campus safety and institutionalized racism. I’ve heard loud and clear that people want action.

I just had a conversation this morning with a group of leaders at SFU and everyone’s saying that we need anti-racism training; I get that, and we’re talking about how to best make that available.

But my question is, what else? I want all of us to think through what we need to do to change our policies and practices as an institution. This institution’s structures—and the barriers they create—can become invisible to us because we’re so used to them. For me, creating lasting change means taking a closer look at those structures, which is one of the reasons I’m excited about hiring our first Vice-President People, Equity and Inclusion.

And that’s a big job! Again, this person will just be one person. They’re not going to be able to do it all either. We’ll have to support them—because, again, this work is for all of us. It’s for all of us to think about small ways in our day-to-day work and student life that we can make a difference, be more inclusive, listen more carefully, and step back to understand different perspectives.

What’s something that you’re proud of accomplishing so far when it comes to EDI at SFU?

Honestly, I think one of the things I’m proudest of is the community. I’ve had lots of meetings with departments, staff groups and faculty, and in every one of those conversations I talk about EDI and reconciliation as priorities. And I’ve had no pushback. Everyone knows this is work we need to do, and everyone wants to help do it. It’s heartening to see! I’m really proud of that.

And finally, if people want to have a conversation with you, how can they get involved?

I have a form on my website that you can send in to start that process. And I really hope that people do so! I’ve learned so much from these conversations already and I want to learn more, to hear from people, hear their concerns.

These conversations are not always easy, and this work is not easy. We’re talking about culture change across the entire organization. It means people have to step up and be prepared to say uncomfortable things to each other, and to hear uncomfortable things. But it also means that we get to move forward together, as a community. And that gives me hope.