Bindu Jayne will vacate her role as associate vice chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Compliance to become chief diversity officer at Rowan University.

Jayne said she decided to make the move because it would be better for her family. Both she and her husband found jobs they were excited about in the area.

Jayne also said that being back in the chief diversity officer role is important to her.

“I saw this role as more than a compliance function or investigation function and that title provided me an entry into having those conversations about diversity and inclusion more generally,” Jayne said.

Jayne said she was approached with the job offer on the first week of September and was impressed with how intentional and detailed the questions in the video interview were. After that, she said her competitive side came into play and she seriously pursued the job.

Jayne said that while she is excited to be back in New Jersey, where she feels more comfortable, coming to Appalachian was a purposeful decision on her part.

“I think the last two and a half years here at Appalachian have really upped my game in terms of solidifying what I know is important about why this work matters on a college campus and the amount of change that can be affected at a predominantly white institution,” Jayne said.

Before she came, Jayne said the Office of Equity, Diversity and Compliance served more of a compliance role than an outreach to minority students, something that she hoped she changed during her time at Appalachian.

Jayne said she was most proud of the connections with students she formed at Appalachian and always tried to provide students having a tough time with a soft spot to land in her office.

“It is not abnormal to have students just need to take a break in this office, just to use the couches to sit by themselves or read a book, and so I always wanted to create a space in this office where they can do that,” Jayne said.

Beyond that, Jayne said that she always found something concrete that could be done to help students in a tough spot.

“There is something I need to be able to do after you tell me you had a bad day,” Jayne said. “That’s my job as an administrator, that’s what I see the roles of administrators are is to hear the concerns of people on the campus and then do something.”

Story by: Sammy Hanf, News Editor