“My commitment to diversity, inclusion, equity and social justice is fundamental to who I am as an individual. As a leader, I have demonstrated my commitment to these core values through organizational policies and community engagement,” says Sri Sundaram, who has led the CSUF College of Business and Economics for the past year.

Born and raised in India, where the caste system still prevailed, Sundaram’s parents nonetheless instilled in him a belief in equal and fair treatment of everyone. When he moved to the United States as a young man, he quickly was exposed to the challenges that African Americans face in achieving equality and inclusion.

“An event that had a pronounced effect on me and highlighted the issue of racism in the U.S. involved one of my mentors who is African American,” recalls Sundaram. “He was a dean at a former university I worked at. We discussed the importance of having a ‘talk’ with his teenage son about how to behave if he gets pulled over by police. I fully appreciated the gravity of this conversation later when we as a nation became witnesses to many Black lives lost and the Black Lives Matter movement.”

Years later, a dean himself at the University of South Florida, Sundaram focused on rectifying health and economic inequalities as a community leader in St. Petersburg, Florida. Through the decades, Sundaram has sought to understand and respond positively to the United States’ struggles in achieving a more inclusive society.

“These and other experiences led to the heightened awareness of my responsibility as a leader to identify ways to address the issues of diversity, inclusion and equity in our society,” he says. “Specifically, I focused on learning and bringing awareness to the impact of inequitable policies on our communities.”

Today, Sundaram is committed to using his leadership role at the College of Business and Economics as a platform to further draw awareness to the impact of inequitable policies on our communities and to nurture an educational experience that brings students together while celebrating their differences.

“Orange County is a great example of a melting pot, and this is one of the reasons why I came here last year. I see the great diversity that we have when looking at our students. I want to help them understand that we want to bring them all together and help them get educated, but at the same time celebrate the diversity and cultures the students bring.”

Read or watch Sundaram’s entire interview in this CSUF News piece.