Abby Chien was selected as the new director of the Diversity and Equity Center (DEC). This is a new position for the DEC, which needed a director because it plans to keep growing. She will helping with student involvement as well as student success. She will also represent underserved students.

“I am excited to be able to have critical conversations with students about what their experiences are,” Chien said. “How they experience the campus culture, what their needs are and I think the lense that I can bring is to do it with partnerships with the folks that create the community here and to really learn who and what makes students thrive.”

Chien left behind the University of Michigan where she was a part of multicultural affairs. She also held a position as co-chair for the multiracial knowledge community with NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education).

“It’s been a long time since the DEC has had a director and Abby brings with her some great experiences working with marginalized student populations, working with social justice initiatives and multicultural centers,” Jeff Rosenberry executive director of student involvement said.

Britanie Martinez, a senior in early childhood education, talks about why the DEC needed a director. Martinez said that she has been with the DEC for two years, and has seen a lot change. She hopes that Chien will fight for the students and get all of the students voices heard.

“We didn’t have a director position for our office, for our department, we were underneath student involvement, I believe, and then moved underneath the president’s office, and then moved back underneath student involvement under Jeff, and now that we finally have a director, we are finally underneath our own department,” Martinez said.

Chien believes that what she brings to the university is the ability to work with people when finding the solution to whatever problems there may be.

Because she is new to CWU, Chien said that it is important for her to engage with the community and learn the culture on campus. She doesn’t want to start changing things about the university before she understands how it works, in order to honor campus and community tradition and legacy, before looking at what comes next.

“What I don’t want to do is come in and say, ‘I know better than the folks who have been here and investing in this,’” Chien said. “What I want to do is come here and compliment and say ‘I see that, I love that, how do we maximize it and bring it to the next level?’”