New Luther College dean is working on creating a welcoming community

There's a new dean on the Luther College campus who has been hired to work with students, faculty, staff and Decorah residents to promote a culture of inclusion and create an ever more welcoming community.

Lisa Scott is the first-ever "Dean of Institutional Equity and Inclusion" at Luther.  It's a senior administrative leadership position which reports directly to Luther President Paula Carlson.

For the past four years, Scott has worked at Susquehanna University in rural Pennsylvania.  The school's percentage of minority students more than doubled over an eight-year period--to 15 percentage of the student body.  Scott says that's because of what she calls "an institutional push" on behalf of the entire staff at Susquehanna.

In the 2016 school year, 11 percent of the Luther student body considered themselves minority students.  Scott believes the re-visioning of the former position of Executive Director of the Diversity Center at Luther is a sign that promoting diversity is no longer seen as the domain of just one department or program.  In fact, she says she hopes "the unique, very attractive elements of Decorah"  will help to lure minority students to campus.  She enjoys the local pride in Norwegian culture and "the lovely way I've been welcomed."  She also believes the coffee shops, yoga studios, restaurants and food stores in Decorah are good attractions for students.

Scott believes student engagement is the key to attracting and keeping minority students--helping them to discover something to love about Luther and Decorah and to thereby strengthen a sense of belonging.