The University’s newly created position of Multicultural Center Director has been an elusive one to fill.
But with years of multicultural-based awareness, Erica Fuller-Shindler appears to be a perfect fit.
She initially turned down the offer in May due to personal reasons, but a change of circumstances brought Fuller-Shindler to the University after all. She was the selection committee’s top candidate all along and is now serving as the one-year interim director and will be eligible to apply for the permanent position at the end of her term, which expires June 30, 2001.
Fuller-Shindler is no stranger to Oregon. She was born and raised in the state, growing up in the coastal community of Bandon and attended the University for her freshman and sophomore years of college.
“In terms of changes since I’ve been here, there have been no changes in the past 10 years,” Fuller-Shindler said. “I think something should have happened by now. There are not many faces of color here and that is a large concern for me.”
As a child attending school in Bandon, Fuller-Shindler, whose ethnic origins include African-American, Native American, German and English, recalls being the only person of color in her classes up until the fourth grade and was consistently referred to as “the ugly nigger.”
“Discrimination set the precedent for where my mind would be,” she said. “It becomes your life. When you are different it is something that you are constantly trying to manage in terms of ‘How do I negotiate who I am in an environment that is not like me?’”
When tackling issues of racism, she believes it is essential to “admit first that we are in America and racism does exist. America has issues and racism is one of them.”
Fuller-Shindler wants to step in and help change that perception, specifically in terms of recruitment and retention issues at the University, which she says are recurring concerns among individuals she has communicated with. She believes that on a national basis, there are plenty of resources available to access and implement in order to help with retention statistics at the local level.
“There are a lot of gestures, and a lot of things appear to be open,” she said. But “what actually occurs, happens and exists are different. [It is a case of] reality versus illusion.”
A 1993 graduate of Mills College in Oakland, Calif., with a major in communications and a minor in ethnic studies, Fuller-Shindler earned a master’s degree in Africana studies at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. in 1995. Most recently she has been working toward a doctorate in anthropology at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
For the past three years, she has served as program coordinator at the UF Dean of Students Office with duties ranging from organizing assemblies, coordinating multicultural retreats and a Women of Color Conference.
“She had an enormous amount of energy and rapport with individual students,” UF’s Associate Dean of Students Michael Rollo said, citing her major strength as “the ability to connect with students and help them reach their goals.
“She helped students to maximize what they wanted to do on a multicultural perspective.”
She is also no stranger to interim positions. She served as UF’s interim director for the Institute of Black Culture and interim director of the Institute of Hispanic/Latino Cultures, as well as serving as an adviser to the Native American Student Association and the Asian Student Union.
“She is well-spoken, energetic and ready to work with students,” said ASUO President Jay Breslow, who participated in the selection committee. “We’re excited about having her.”
Breslow, who has previously worked in the MCC and said he “holds it dear to his heart,” hopes to combine forces with Fuller-Shindler throughout the coming year.
“Consolidating networks, getting things done and setting similar goals,” he said. “Hopefully we can set a theme for the year and work together on it.”
Fuller-Shindler has a broad spectrum of experience, both personal and professional, to draw from.
“I have had an opportunity to get around the university systems and gather insight in terms of how things can work and what things don’t work,” she said. “And my research background will be helpful to determine the environment here on campus.”
She hopes to meld these two areas of experience, using one to assess the other and vice versa. But her primary concern is the students.
“I want to hear firsthand from the students what their wants and needs are,” she said.
She looks forward to identifying “Who’s got a lot to say and who is doing something.”
For starters, she hopes to serve as a link “to the network of students and people ready, willing and able to make a real difference as opposed to talking about it. Talk is good for brainstorming, evaluating issues and goals, and making plans. [Talk is] good as long as it leads to action.
“I am an action person — in my family you don’t talk about it, you do it.”
While she settles into her new position, her first tasks are organizing the space in the MCC, planning a staff retreat to define issues and goals and meeting people to determine “who the players are, who my peers are, develop allies and relationships to realize the full potential of the MCC. I just hope we have the resources to make it become what it can become.”
Fuller-Shindler believes that student power on this campus is phenomenal and commendable and hopes to provide support, direction and consistency.
“I am here as a counselor and mentor hoping to continue the process of leadership development.”