2022_Diversity_and_Inclusion_Summit_SB_27442022_Diversity_and_Inclusion_Summit_SB_2744
Scott Bruhn

No Place I’d Rather Be

N Our Voice By Dr. Lawrence Chatters

My role as the Executive Associate Athletic Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is a mouthful, but every bit of it is needed. 

If I could make one thing clear, I'd say my job at the University of Nebraska is not just about culture from a race perspective, gender perspective, or anything like that. I am the culture cultivator for the entire athletics department in a number of different ways. 

I help with communication and figuring out ways to break down barriers to work through challenges. To put it simply, I'm a problem solver. 

And I love everything about it. 

My goal is to work towards maintaining a culture of inclusion throughout our athletic department for all our staff, coaches, student-athletes, and even our fans. 

To create that environment, we have to put in a lot of work to gain a deeper understanding of what it takes to make people feel like they belong. 

For us, it's a lot about providing opportunities to learn more about each other and to build teamwork and unity throughout our department — both inside and outside of the competitive arena. 

Finding my why

 

I've been back at Nebraska now for six months. 

In that time span, I've had countless amazing interactions with our athletes, coaches, and other members of this department. 

One early interaction, however, is one that deserves a bit of special recognition. In some ways, it's one that kick-started a lot of important initiatives. 

Back then, a student-athlete came to me because of a "problematic encounter with one of my teammates". Because of something that was said, this student-athlete was hurt, and didn't know how to go about it. 

So, I suggested to this individual to speak to the teammate and invite them over to sit down and have a conversation with me. 

Both student-athletes came in to talk, and we were able to have a very productive and courageous conversation about what happened. 

And guess what? 

They were able to mend their friendship as a result of that discussion and interaction. 

That entire situation was just really moving to me, you know? 

It was nice to be able to help them do that. But honestly, all I really did was help them see each other through the challenge, and I think that's often what we need. 

Just imagine what a situation like that could do to a team, if left unresolved — you know, when two individuals trying to work towards the same goal don't like each other or have issues with one another. 

That provides a lot of problems for the space.

So, through that encounter, I have been able to replicate the same experience time and time again and do several workshops with teams to help them see each other across differences and unite. 

I feel like this kind of work helps the student-athlete experience and creates that inclusive environment that everyone needs to maximize their well-being. To be able to sit down with these students through these tough conversations really helped me find my 'why.' 

 

Making a real impact

 

Yes, we are having difficult conversations, but we are also creating an experience here at Nebraska that will enrich things for those currently attending, while simultaneously creating a more attractive destination for future student-athletes. 

What I find when speaking with former student-athletes is that they're happy to see us treating these topics with the level of importance they deserve. But at the same time, you know, those athletes look back on what could have been. 

What would have happened if people asked them more questions about a particular part of their background and culture? 

What if they had more opportunities to celebrate those things? 

It would have enriched their experience. 

We could use the knowledge from the past to improve the present and pave the way for a better future here at Nebraska. Now, I have the opportunity to make a real impact by being proactive. 

We have a group called the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion team that is made up of a couple of student-athletes from every team at Nebraska. Their main objective is making sure that they are taking the temperature of their team from a cultural perspective. 

They're bringing information to the group and helping us understand how things are working on their teams, along with the current events impacting their respective sports from a cultural perspective. 

I can then bring those issues to our executive leadership team, and we get a chance to talk about those things and make a change to impact our students in real-time. It's no longer a situation of all these problems building behind the scenes that get ignored. 

Now, we proactively hear the issues, deal with them, and provide our student-athletes with a platform to talk about them. 

It's been a perfect role for me to be in this space, and I couldn't be any more motivated to fulfill my duties. Any student that comes into my office looking for support, they will get it."

Dr. Lawrence Chatters

Right where I belong

 

Being proactive impacts the present, but it'll also have a major impact on the future. 

We're always thinking about recruiting in athletics, right? How are you going to get that next crop of students that's going to come in and make an impact on your program? 

The more inclusive your department is, the more you are able to strategically and competitively recruit students. 

They recognize it and start to think to themselves, "Hey, this athletic department not only cares about my abilities as an athlete, but they care about me as a person. They care about me as a cultural being. They care about how I interact with the world." 

That's what we are doing at Nebraska right now. 

We're going to make ourselves a department that's competitively inclusive so that any student, regardless of their cultural background, can look at our department and know we care about individuals. Not only do we care, but we celebrate individuals. This is a culture you want to be a part of for those reasons and more. 

That goes for student-athletes, trainers, coaches — everyone across the board. 

It's been a perfect role for me to be in this space, and I couldn't be any more motivated to fulfill my duties. Any student that comes into my office looking for support, they will get it. 

Guaranteed! 

Looking back, I can say with complete certainty there is no other place I'd rather be.