by Shona Simkin
In this conversation with Chief Community and Culture Officer Terrill Drake, we discuss the Office for Community and Culture’s (OCC) new name, their work with the University’s Community and Campus Life office, what the team is working on, and more.
What motivated the name change for both the University office and HBS?
We wanted to align our efforts with the broader University, as we continue to strive to ensure that all faculty, staff, and students at HBS experience full participation in our community and realize the benefits of learning, working, and living alongside people who have had different experiences and hold different viewpoints.
For HBS, beyond the desire for alignment I’ve just noted, the Community and Culture name resonated for two reasons. First, community is a word with strong resonance—whether because of our Community Values, or because a sense of community is something I think we all strive to build and uphold. Second, our former dean, Nitin Nohria, took the important step of creating a faculty leadership position at the School—the senior associate dean for Community and Culture. This is the role Kristin Mugford currently plays, and she and her predecessors also brought a strong focus on ensuring everyone at HBS could thrive and do their best work.
Why is our office’s name different from the University’s?
Our name, the Office for Community and Culture, reflects our emphasis on community building and engagement. It reminds members of our campus that all of us are responsible for shaping the culture we want to experience. We believe that intercultural mindsets and behaviors can help members of the community build bridges with others across a variety of backgrounds, and our goal is to ensure they have the support that they need to be successful in that endeavor.
As I noted, the new name also aligns with the title of the senior associate dean for community and culture—a role that initially focused on faculty, then grew to include students and staff. When I first stepped into my role, I partnered closely with the senior associate dean to examine how our efforts could positively impact the culture of the School. The partnership has always been central to this work, so it made sense that our office, and my title, align with this leadership role.
Community and Campus Life (CCL), on the other hand, is a unit within the Office of the President that serves the entire University with a broad scope, including areas such as University Disability Resources. CCL achieves its vision for fostering a Harvard where everyone can thrive, grounded in the University-wide Community Values and in support of the University mission of excellence in research, teaching, and learning.
How closely do you work with Community and Campus Life?
Very closely. I sit on the Community Life Officers Council, which is composed of leaders in similar roles across the University and provides space to connect alongside Sherri [Charleston, chief community and campus life officer] and senior leaders on her team. We all report on what is happening in our respective areas, discuss programmatic efforts, and share resources with each other.
I also consult with Sherri on my office’s major initiatives and messaging. I seek her advice as the University leader in this space and try to make sure that she’s aware of what we’re doing—both to identify potential ripples that our efforts may create, and to help identify opportunities for greater partnership and impact. In this capacity, CCL provides backbone support for community and culture efforts across the University. They collaborate with our office to identify common challenges, share insights from local approaches, and establish consistent methods for tracking and sharing progress that complement both the HBS culture and climate survey results and other topics relevant to our local environment.
What about your office has changed other than the name?
We are currently finalizing an updated scope and set of priorities to ensure that everyone benefits from our work. We have always tried to be broad in how we serve the full community, but some members did not feel that our work, and how we talked about it, applied to them. We have to change that. Going forward, you’ll hear more from our office about how we serve all pockets of the campus, including areas such as spirituality and religion, disability awareness, and low-income and socioeconomic status. We hope these changes will ensure that our community sees that we are here to serve everyone.
We’re entering a new strategic planning process and hope to provide more clarity about our work in the coming months.
Does this signal a change in how we think and talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion? Can we still use those words?
That’s a very common question these days. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are words with discrete meanings, though they have been used to represent concepts and contexts that were much broader. We do not believe our work has ever been about just those words. Though we used them to represent our efforts to support our community, it is clear that we needed to step back and refresh our perspective with a broader, overarching approach to community building and belonging at HBS that aligns with our academic mission, and to develop a vocabulary that reflects this broader view. As such, you’ll hear words like community and culture to reflect our change in approach. We’re happy to help members of our campus find ways to express their work in this realm.
Does this signal a broader change in the values and commitments of HBS and the University?
Harvard and HBS both remain committed to our community values and culture, which serve as the foundation for the work that we do and how we make decisions. These values support our broader academic mission by creating a community where everyone can participate fully in the academic life of the School and the University. As such, we are dedicated to respecting the rights, differences, and dignity of others; honesty and integrity in dealing with all members of the community; and accountability for our personal behavior.
What does this mean for the Racial Equity Plan?
The Racial Equity Plan was the impetus for the formation of our office and an important focus for our work. We will continue to incorporate the intention behind the plan in our efforts. But our aspiration has always been bigger. Any initiative that’s designed only for one group inevitably leads others to ask about how the School can recognize and support them. We want to maintain the true spirit of the Racial Equity Action Plan, but also broaden it so that everyone across the community sees how the OCC supports who they are and what they bring to the School.
What does this mean for staff affinity groups and identity-based student clubs?
Both the University and HBS will continue to support affinity groups and clubs for students and staff. The Students for Fair Admissions Supreme Court decision reinforced our long-held understanding that those groups are and must remain open and welcoming to all members of the community.
Please remind us of some of the key resources that your office provides.
Our office will continue to provide learning opportunities for all members of the community, most notably through our Connected Community Series for staff. We’re looking to implement similar content in the faculty and student spaces, and we will also continue to provide education on countering antisemitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Arab bias.
In the coming months, members of the community will also see additional opportunities for community engagement with the goal of cultivating relationships across the School. If there are specific resources anyone is interested in, I encourage them to reach out to our office.