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Since joining Rose-Hulman in 2023 as its Director for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Efforts, Mercedes Clay has learned a lot about the STEM college of more than 2,200 students. Most surprising, though, has been the collaborative bond Clay says she sees between students.

“I love the collaborative spirit of the students,” said Clay, who previously served as Chief Diversity Officer and Director of Intercultural Relations at Defiance (Ohio) College. “The coursework encourages them to work with one another. I love the way they support each other through the struggle.”

A native of Lima, Ohio, Clay holds a Master of Business Administration and a master’s degree in business and organizational leadership from Defiance. She earned her bachelor’s degree in public communications from Ashland University. Clay earned a certificate in diversity, equity, and inclusion from Cornell University. Additionally, she served as a summer institute fellow in higher education management at the Vanderbilt University Peabody Professional Institute.

Her nearly two decades of work in diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts began as a student intern in Ashland’s multicultural affairs office.

“That’s where I really started to see the type of work being done on the programming side with students, in particular students of color,” Clay said. “My high school was mostly Black, so many of those programs were naturally happening. I didn’t fully understand that wasn’t happening everywhere until I went to college.”

Clay notes the value of building a campus community built of individuals with varied experiences, ideas, and perspectives.

“We have students who have expectations to go out and change lives, build our roadways create our medicines, tools and technologies that will impact the world,” Clay said. “In order to make that happen, we must think about the people who are going to use them. To be successful with that goal you must have a variety of folks at the table who come from a variety of backgrounds. When that happens, you get the most enriching experience for community and personal growth. We must learn to work with each other, even when we disagree, for the greater good of humanity. DEI work teaches us that. It’s making sure people are at the table to share their voices and we are giving fair access to everyone.”

Clay said she’s been most appreciative of the proactive and collaborative relationships the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging has developed with other areas of campus, including each academic department.

“People here recognize that this is important,” Clay said. “We’re having the scary conversations in ways that are comfortable. We’re talking about a variety of topics, not just hard-hitting DEI, but how it looks and shapes the curriculum and how we can create an open environment for our students to have the space to learn and to be.”

Providing students, faculty, and staff a place to come together, reset, or reflect is one of her goals with the campus Center for Diversity and Inclusion location. Longer-term, Clay hopes to see an expanded multicultural center developed on campus, additional curriculum and credentialing related to DEI and STEM, and continued growth of the campus Speaker Series and other programming around cultural awareness. For Black History Month, for example, the office is planning multiple events, including a cultural corridor to the center that highlights the unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement.

“I think a lot of times we don’t hear about the folks their age who were in classes and on the frontlines of the Civil Rights Movement,” Clay said. “We’re going to highlight those who spark activism and show how you can use what you’re learning to help the world in different ways.”