Iona hosted a distinguished guest speaker in Murphy Auditorium on Sept. 4. Dr. Johnetta Betsch Cole lectured on the importance of diversity on a college campus.

Her speech was part of the Jack Rudin & John G. Driscoll Distinguished Visiting Professorship program.

Cole has served as the president of two colleges: Spelman College (in Georgia) and Bennett College for Women (in North Carolina).

She was the first black woman to be president of Spelman. She was also a professor of anthropology at Emory University (in Georgia).

Currently, she works as the Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art in Washington.

In her speech, titled “The Pedagogical Case for Diversity and Inclusion in America Higher Education,” Cole stressed that becoming informed about all different ethnic backgrounds is vital to getting a well-rounded education.

“Education’s responsibility is to make people aware of the global scene,” Cole said in her speech. “Teaching and learning soar when the participants are of a diverse background.”

She stated that there are four “W’s” that pose threats to diversity in the academic realm.

She proclaimed that college faculty and subject matters are too western, white, woman-less and wealthy.

By eliminating these characteristics, we will establish a more varied community, in which all races, genders and social classes feel included and comfortable.

By making our society a more level playing field, minorities will be given better opportunities, resulting in a more diverse culture.

While it seems as though it would be fairly simple to make the necessary changes to make a newer, more open-minded society, Cole lamented that this has not been the case.

She pointed out that bigotry has found a way to repeatedly sneak into society.

“Because racism is so prevalent in our world, people say it is human nature,” Cole said in her speech. “Bigotry is not carried on the chromosome. Bigotry is learned. If it is learned, it can be unlearned.”

Toward the end of her talk, Cole stated that in order for diversity to prevail over bigotry and racism, we must engineer the shift.

We are the ones who hold the keys that can establish a fair, open-minded and considerate community.

“She conveyed the essence of the major challenges facing college campuses,” said Dr. Mark Kiselica, the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. “We have to translate her message into specific initiatives.”

While Cole’s speech focused on causing change and making Iona’s campus and the nation as a whole more diverse and open-minded, she also acknowledged that the most effective movements are powered by actions, not words.

This major progression takes a long time and will not happen overnight.

“This is not an event; this is a process,” Cole said after her talk in a personal interview. “Diversity enriches all of us.”

Dr. Sibdas Ghosh, Dean of the School of Arts & Science, served as the master of ceremonies. Dr. Susan Toliver, of the Sociology Department, introduced Cole.

The Jack Rudin & John G. Driscoll Distinguished Visiting Professorship program has brought exceptional speakers to Iona for more than 20 years.

The program began in 1993. Almost every year since then, one or two speakers have come to Iona to give guest lectures.

Some of the more famous speakers from previous years include Don Hewitt from “60 Minutes” (in 1999) and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia (in 2007).