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Vice provost draws on academic and professional success during "Black Excellence" presentation
▶ LARA KORTE
@lara_korte
n a presentation titled "Black Excellence," DeAngela Burns-Wallace, vice provost of undergraduate studies, spoke to students about taking advantage of University resources and seizing opportunities in their education.
About 30 students gathered in The Jay at the Kansas Union on Monday night to hear Burns-Wallace speak about her own academic and professional success and to learn how they might do the same.
As a native of Kansas City, Mo., Burns-Wallace went on to receive degrees from Stanford, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania. She also held positions in the U.S. Department of State as a foreign service officer. Before coming to the University in January, Burns-Wallace was assistant vice provost at the University of Missouri.
Alex Robinson/KANSAN DeAngela Burns-Wallace, vice provost of undergraduate studies, gave a presentation called 'Black Excellence' at a Black Student Union event.
She encouraged the students to work on their "transferable skills" and to grow their personal confidence.
"I truly believe that there isn't a job someone could put in front of me that I couldn't do," Burns-Wallace said. "I believe that; you should believe that."
"You should build yourself in a place to say, 'You know what, I may not have direct experience in that particular field, but I feel like I have this set of transferable skills that
help me do this job in this way.' To say 'I am a critical thinker; I can take apart a problem and put it back together. I can relate to people, I can collaborate, I can manage a project, I can write well," Burns-Wallace said.
For many students, accessing opportunities is a matter of accessing resources from the University. Burns-Wallace said at a large institution like the University, resources aren't always utilized.
Alex Robinson/KANSAN called "Black Excellence" at a
Please understand that because someone looks like you in color and shape and size, does not mean that they think like you."
DeAngela Burns-Wallace vice provost of undergraduate studies
we have to make sure you know what resources you have, and that we're accessible."
"When we're at a big institution, we create resources and those resources are there, and sometimes the assumption is, 'Oh we're here, so if students need us, they know we're here.' And that's not quite the way we have to look at it," she said. "We have to look at it [as], 'We're here and the students are there, and we have to go to where you are.' We have to make sure you know we're here;
Burns-Wallace said students should pursue and take advantage of those resources during this time when they're able to explore and experience new things.
"We have to push that door to make sure we're engaged, and we're involved and that they're pulling you in and we're welcoming you in," she said. "That you're asking for them as well, saying, 'I'm looking for this, do we have this? If we don't have this who can help me get this?'"
"De was simple; De was easy," Burns-Wallace said., "DeAngela was harder."
Burns-Wallace also spoke about her experience as a black woman in higher education and in the professional world. Growing up, she said she usually abbreviated her name to just "De" to avoid difficulties.
However, after graduating high school and moving to California to start her undergrad, she began using her full first name.
"I went to Stanford and one of the first things I was taught and what I saw from faculty and administrators and upperclassmen was that I could be an intellectual, and I could be black," Burns-Wallace said. "And I didn't have to choose, and I didn't have to make excuses for either."
Burns-Wallace told students they'll likely encounter spaces where
no one else looks like them. However, she said, it's important to use their voices, and work to create a space for themselves.
"I think it's a comfort level and it doesn't happen overnight,' it happens across your career, you have to build it, you have to learn, you have to engage with people who come from different spaces and places," she said. "And please understand that because someone looks like you in color and shape and size, does not mean that they think like you; if that was the case this would be a very boring world."
Burns-Wallace's talk lasted a little under an hour. Ariel Heim, a freshman from Sacramento and chair of the Black Student Union Freshman Action
Team, said she thought it was inspiring to hear from someone who has similar experiences.
"Knowing someone who's been where I'm from and has experiences that you can experience in California and then come here, it's like, 'Okay, this is a person of color in power, and she's taking time out of her life to come over here and talk to us about whatever is going on,' and I was really excited about it," Heim said.
Chancellor Adams, interim president of Black Student Union, said the vice provost is one of many leaders on campus black students can look up to.
"This University is a unique university compared to other universities. We have a
lot of people of color in high spaces, particularly black women, including a black male, Nate Thomas, vice provost [for diversity and equity], and for black students to see that, that's something that we don't get when we go everywhere else," Adams said.
Adams said the event was an opportunity for students not just to learn from Burns-Wallace but also to recognize someone for her success.
“It's just always a good feeling to see black people succeed; it's like when you see your family succeed, it's a great thing,” Adams said. "And this was a perfect opportunity for BSU to celebrate one of our own."
- Edited by Samantha Harms