‘No one goes against the President’: Tufts’ diversity office reckons with high-level departures, internal conflicts
‘No one goes against the President’: Tufts’ diversity office reckons with high-level departures, internal conflicts
When Caroline Genco became provost ad interim of Tufts in January, one former employee of the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice knew they couldn’t stay at the university.
The Office of DEIJ, housed under the Office of the Provost, has seen significant changes since the beginning of the year. Tufts’ two chief diversity officers (CDOs), Rob Mack and Joyce Sackey, both left their positions in August within a span of two weeks. Internal conflict over the university’s Juneteenth programming and a decision by Genco to temporarily change the reporting structure of the DEIJ office caused former and current employees to allege a lack of transparency in the provost’s office and a culture that runs contrary to the university’s anti-racism principles.