Tommy Lee Woon, dean of multicultural life at Macalester College, was recently appointed to fill the new position of director of diversity and first-generation programs at Stanford. It is a return to Stanford: he worked here from 1993 to 2002 as assistant dean of students and multicultural educator. He has worked at several other higher-education institutions.

Woon corresponded with The Daily via e-mail on Tuesday to discuss his upcoming job. An edited excerpt is below.

Stanford Daily (SD): What are the biggest issues that first generation students at Stanford face, and how will you work to address that?

Tommy Woon (TW): Commonly, the biggest issues include overcoming isolation, learning to develop the resiliency to thrive and coping with financial stress. We know from studies that people can flourish under the most adverse circumstances when they are resilient. I will work to empower students, reduce their isolation and build their emotional literacy and life skills so that they can thrive even if institutional and cultural barriers are less than ideal. On the other hand, I will also raise awareness of structural, cultural and financial conditions that impinge on students so we don’t place an unfair burden on them or blame the victims when they are overwhelmed.

SD: Diversity and support for first-generation students seem like very different categories. Why were these two grouped together, and how will your office divide its work between them?

TW: To answer the why question first: Since I didn’t create this position, I can only assume Stanford wanted to make support for first-generation college students concerns more explicit…in this regard, it’s another step towards acknowledging that diversity is complicated. Diversity is not merely distinct categories of people and histories interacting with each other, but people with unique and fluid multiple identities that are intersecting and ebbing and flowing within and with others.

I am not expecting to divide work but to blend work with first generation and diversity. Conceptually, I want to put first-generation college students in the center of an intersection. If the intersection is a rotary with different pathways in and out, we can promote a holistic approach for ensuring the needs of first-generation students are addressed while attending to all of the diversity in a community.

SD: How will you involve students in the creation and implementation of any programs or projects you will begin?

TW: I want to institutionalize student participation and leadership so the programs that my office creates reflect students’ sensibilities and creativity. I look forward to creating some structures and recruiting talented students to be my partners. I hope to hire some students, create an advisory group with substantial student representation and use social media to communicate with stakeholders.

SD: What will be the first item on your agenda when you come to Stanford next year?

TW: Meet, greet and listen to students, particularly first generation students. Make visible my commitment, approachability and accessibility to them. And make visible my leadership in coalescing other resources to support them.

SD: What are some long term projects you have in mind, and how will those be implemented?

TW: A long term project is to create an ecosystem at Stanford that offers sustained, visible support for first generation students. This will require taking inventory of existing support and highlighting, expanding and coalescing, and publicizing them. I will need to work with students, staff, faculty and alumni to do this.

I’d like to use a process called Appreciative Inquiry to generate ideas and action plans. It’s a process that invites people to do strength analysis, to gather and connect ideas from successful personal experiences to co-create a blue print for change.