Diversity Dean
In Christina Fong, Foster has its first associate dean of inclusion and diversity
As the nation contends with painful deficiencies of equity and racial justice, the Foster School is experiencing a reckoning within our own community. Christina Fong, the William D. Bradford Endowed Professor of management, is leading a comprehensive effort to address these deficiencies as the school’s first associate dean of inclusion and diversity.
“Christina’s research and extensive service provide her a deep understanding of what it takes to build and nurture inclusive communities,” says Dean Frank Hodge. “And her passion for doing so is infectious.”
In her 17 years at Foster, Fong has become a primary catalyst for the leadership development of students across programs. Her teaching and research of leadership and organizational dynamics has sparked big questions about the equity and inclusion of the systems we live and work in. And she has led seminars on inclusive leadership at a long list of organizations, including Amazon, Starbucks, Kaiser Permanente and the Seattle Fire Department. She has twice been named an Outstanding UW Woman, and she has received the UW Distinguished Teaching Award (2011), Foster’s Dean’s Leadership Award (2015) and the Women of Color Empowerment Award (2016).
Fong brings an evidence-based approach to her new role that draws on years of academic research on implicit and explicit stereotyping, power and politics in organizations and management education.
“To create meaningful change in the diversity of our community, we’ll need to examine and engage across multiple levels,” Fong says. “What I think Foster has as its advantage is our ability to take new approaches to old problems, and to collaborate across these levels.”
She plans to continue building on the strong relationships she’s already developed within the school, university and greater Seattle business community. And she’s excited to create spaces for connection and find new ways to build a community where everyone feels valued and included.
“The Foster School is full of leaders—students, staff and faculty who have led major steps toward creating an inclusive community,” Fong says. “I’m looking forward to leveraging the momentum from these existing leaders and thinking about how I can accelerate, celebrate and support their work and commitment to building a diverse and inclusive Foster School of Business.”
-story by Danielle McConnell
