Magazine Spring 2024 Westmont Names the Inaugural Director of the Houston Center and First Chief Diversity Officer

CARMEL SAAD, a psychology professor at Westmont since 2012, has become the inaugural director of the Carol Houston Center for Justice, Reconciliation and Diversity and the college’s first chief diversity officer.

“Carmel will play a vital role at Westmont,” says President Gayle D. Beebe. “In our current social and economic climate, we see a growing need for broader conversations and initiatives that lead to deeper awareness and understanding. Healthy institutions are learning how to embrace the diversity of its members as part of their core competency as Christians and citizens. Research demonstrates that including diverse viewpoints leads to richer discussions, more innovative products, more creative ideas, better decisions and stronger, healthier organizations.”

The college began the process of establishing the Houston Center, appointing a chief diversity officer and strengthening the curriculum in 2020. In May 2023, Westmont trustees approved adding a requirement to enhance general education and bolster a sense of belonging among all people on campus. Saad was integrally involved in planning this change.

“We knew she was the ideal person to lead our initiatives,” Beebe said. “Carmel has earned high praise for her leadership and academic scholarship. She has developed deep and meaningful relationships with students, faculty and staff and has gained their trust.”

“I’m excited to interact with different constituencies, build bridges and shed light on how we can better engage in God’s vision of a just, reconciling and diverse community,” Saad says. “I’ll explore how students, faculty and staff can build capacities to increase belonging, enhance cultural intelligence, mitigate the effects of bias and better consider the perspectives of others. Through education, diversity training and vocational preparation, we aim to graduate students empowered to undertake difficult conversations from a more informed perspective of how to love others as ourselves, as Christ calls us to do. We’ll emphasize the importance of working and growing alongside one another while appreciating and learning from our differences.”

“I’m excited to interact with different constituencies, build bridges and shed light on how we can better engage in God’s vision of a just, reconciling and diverse community.”

Saad’s research, expertise and leadership have focused on implicit bias, the unconscious prejudices absorbed in childhood that persist into adulthood. She has been involved in several justice, reconciliation and diversity initiatives at Westmont as well as at various local and national organizations, including the UC and CSU systems, Santa Barbara Unified School District, Santa Barbara Police Department, Santa Barbara Office of Probation and Cottage Hospital.

The diversity of Westmont students has increased significantly since the mid-1980s, moving from 5 percent of students reporting as non-white in 1984 to the most diverse class ever in fall 2023 with 48 percent of students reporting as non-white and more than 23 percent of students identifying as Latino or Hispanic.

“As our enrollment continues to diversify, we’re committed to enhancing overall student belonging, retention and success,” Saad says. “It’s essential to strengthen our support and care for diverse students. As we equip all groups to become empathic global citizens, we must participate in honest and respectful conversations about difference and avoid inflaming or ignoring these discussions. We must resist the tendency for ethnocentrism, which can lead to lack of civility and respect. In the midst of challenging dynamics, we strive for understanding, compassion and action.”

Saad graduated from UC Santa Barbara and earned a doctorate in social and personality psychology from UC Davis. She taught at UC Davis, Napa Valley College and the University of the Pacific before coming to Westmont.