SC&I has named Bernadette Gailliard, Ph.D., the inaugural Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Gailliard is a scholar and research consultant whose work examines the experiences of underrepresented groups within organizations, focusing on identity issues and career socialization.
For Gailliard, her new role marks a return to SC&I. She first joined the SC&I faculty in September 2012 as an assistant professor of Communication. Dedicated to pursuing her goal to broadly advance DEI work, she left SC&I to serve in Rutgers central administration, most recently as the Director of Racial Equity and Early Career Support for the Faculty Diversity Collaborative in the office of University Equity and Inclusion.
"DEI initiatives are more meaningful when they reflect the needs and experiences of the community. My goal is not just to create new programs but to ensure that DEI frameworks and practices are integrated into the work being done at SC&I.”
“I am excited to be back at SC&I,” Gailliard said. “The role is new, and I am open to feedback and ideas. I look forward to working in this capacity with the SC&I faculty, students, and staff, and seeing how the role will develop,” Gailliard said during a school-wide meeting.
The new position, Associate Dean for Programs and Distinguished Professor of Journalism and Media Studies Dafna Lemish wrote in an email to the school community, will be dedicated to building on the school’s current DEI initiatives and leading new ones; serving as the school’s representative in the Rutgers-New Brunswick Equity Advisors Network; and integrating university-wide initiatives within SC&I.
“I will start by continuing the DEI work Dafna began, including the Diversity book club,” Gailliard said. “I will also spend time speaking with faculty, staff, and students at SC&I to learn what their experiences have been and what they are expecting from this role, because DEI initiatives are more meaningful when they reflect the needs and experiences of the community. My goal is not just to create new programs but to ensure that DEI frameworks and practices are integrated into the work being done at SC&I.”
Through her involvement in the RU-NB Equity Advisors Network, a Rutgers initiative dedicated to building a community of practice among the faculty and staff dedicated to DEI work at the university, Gailliard said she will contribute to the group’s aim of “supporting each other, collaborating, and sharing what our experiences are and have been. Dafna was SC&I’s previous representative, so I will pick up her work for the network and continue to build on it.”
Gailliard will also work to advance the DEI initiatives established by Rutgers University President Holloway and the Rutgers Office of University Equity and Inclusion. Gailliard said, “President Holloway has established a diversity hiring initiative for faculty and post docs, and I will be focused on ensuring SC&I is involved in this. In addition, UEI has created DEI initiatives for both faculty and students, and I would like to make sure SC&I is aware of these opportunities, and takes advantage of existing resources so I don’t re-create the wheel.”
Gailliard will also work to advance the DEI initiatives established by Rutgers University President Holloway and the Rutgers Office of University Equity and Inclusion
Gailliard's academic research emphasizes the intersections of race, gender, and power as they relate to identity and associated constructs within organizational contexts. In general, she is interested in how members negotiate their varying identities and group memberships. More specifically, she uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to understand how people in underrepresented groups (such as women and ethnic minorities) perceive their identities in different organizational contexts, and how that influences membership assimilation and organizational identification processes.
Gailliard holds doctorate and master’s degrees in Organizational Communication from the University of California Santa Barbara and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from American University. Her published research can be found in Management Communication Quarterly, The Annals of the International Communication Association, and Human Relations.
“I am excited to welcome Bernadette back to SC&I," Lemish said. “She has deep expertise and excellent qualities to take the school forward on its long-lasting commitment to social justice and inclusion. The position she now occupies signifies the DEI values that we hold dear at SC&I and I look forward to working closely with her.”
Discover more about the Rutgers School of Communication and Information on the website.
