Charlotte Westerhaus begins her tenure as NCAA vice-president for diversity and inclusion August 1. Westerhaus will oversee the new office established by NCAA President Myles Brand to bolster the Association's ongoing diversity-awareness campaign, and provide leadership, as well as some measure of accountability, regarding how the national office and NCAA institutions make decisions that reflect an inclusive approach.

Westerhaus, formerly the assistant to the president and director of equal opportunity and diversity at the University of Iowa, participated in a question-and-answer session with The NCAA News recently, during which she spoke about the difference between diversity and inclusion, the business case for inclusion and the environment necessary to use diversity as a competitive advantage.

Q What are your primary challenges in your first 90 days?

A We have a few key positions that are presently open in the national office. One of the challenges is putting together a staff that can help me implement the initiatives and programs that already are established, as well as create new ones. The second challenge is that the membership is very diverse. We have to get a sense of needs, issues and goals in relationship to diversity in Divisions I, II and III.

Another challenge is to bring some synergy to the many long-standing and successful diversity programs within the NCAA national office. We're doing great things in a variety of avenues. How can we do what we've been doing well even better to serve the membership?

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Q Talk about the words "diversity" and "inclusion." How are they different?

A Diversity denotes the differences that every individual brings to the table. Within the NCAA, that means the differences our member institutions have in their student bodies and student-athletes, in their athletics administration and in the coaching ranks. That's diversity of individuals, of backgrounds, of cultures, of gender identity.

Inclusion is how you include diversity. Cognizant of the differences, how do you include all the voices around the table, and how do you blend them so that there is harmony, as well as productivity, to make your organization better?

It's not just including the diversity. It is including it in a way that is cognizant of the individual differences, celebratory of those, and how you include those differences so you can move together in harmony. The harmony, hopefully, will be behind the NCAA strategic plan. To me, that is the conductor that orchestrates how we work together toward common goals. Within our membership, I look forward to working with a variety of colleges and universities to give them a sense of expertise on how they can do that within their campuses, being aware of the diversity they have within the athletics departments, within their missions and with their students, so they can be even better at what they do with that diversity.

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Q How is diversity and inclusion more than just a numbers game?

A First, we have to make sure we understand that it is clearly not just the numbers. It is what the numbers bring to the table and how they work together in a productive team or organization. If you're just counting heads and they are sitting around a table, nothing productive, effective, efficient or beneficial can be done. You have to recognize, too, that diversity and inclusion deals with climactic issues. You have to make sure the educational environment and the work environment are conducive for success. Voices have to be heard, but they have to be directed in a climate in which they're conducive to being heard. It's not just "We will build it, they will come and we will count them." It is "We will build it, they will come, and we will move forward strategically to enhance the success of an organization."

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Q What is the business case for diversity and inclusion? Why is it worth the effort?

A The business case has been demonstrated through research, more so in the private sector than the public sector, that there is a competitive advantage to diversity. Those organizations that publicly tout diversity as a tool to help them become more competitive are those companies that have been leaders in their respective market areas. Diversity is a competitive advantage.

Studies also show the Fortune 500 companies that publicly support diversity and have diversity infused in every element of their organizations are doing better on the Standard and Poor's S&P, and their markets are expanding not only nationally but globally. Diversity is a competitive advantage that will make you a more excellent company if you have the skills to include it in a productive manner. That is a fact. That is not a theory.

The challenge is not only to educate people about that fact, but in some ways, even if they are educated about that fact, they need the methods and tools to make diversity become a competitive advantage. In athletics administration, it could be in not only how you hire, but who you hire and how you enable. Inclusion is an enabling tool.

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Q What percentage of your job will be externally focused?

A Part of my responsibilities will deal with internal diversity initiatives and the support and creation of new ones for the national office. But the majority of my time will be national -- and I think the membership is not only expecting that, but looking forward to it.

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Q How do you plan to assist member institutions and conferences in advancing diversity and inclusion?

A The first thing I have to do is get out and meet them. After the introductions are made, I think the best way for me to be successful in any initiation of programs is to listen, be cognizant that our universities have their own distinct cultures and environments, appreciate those differences and at the same time come out with some common themes.

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Q What is the difference between simply overseeing or administering diversity programming and really facilitating a culture change?

A I see administrating a diversity program as more of the day-to-day do's and don't's. It's actually tactical and task oriented. Facilitating change, however, is a much more integrated approach. The order of things is knowing where you want to be, identifying the issues that will enhance where you want to be or that you need to overcome, then creating strategies to help you reach that goal.

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Q Theorize about the current state of diversity and inclusion in intercollegiate athletics. Why are we where we are today?

A That begs the question: Where are we? Let's say you're on a trip. If you end up at a certain place, it is because of the road map you followed. We're at where we're at today based on the types of steps we've made, historically, in those efforts. Some of them have worked. Some of them have not been as productive. It's good to know how you got there. If it wasn't the best way to go, you won't take the same steps again. It's also good to watch the steps of others who have gotten to where you want to be in a much more effective and efficient manner. It's also good to celebrate if you did a good job in getting where you want to be.

I think we have a culture in which sometimes we don't pay attention, historically, to where we are. We don't celebrate the steps we've made and we don't try to find out or replicate those steps of organizations that have gotten further ahead. That's the challenge of my office as well. I want to give credence to some universities and colleges that are taking great strides. There are some great commissions as well that are doing it. I want to give credence to them and pay careful attention to those to see if we can replicate those successes throughout the membership.

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Q What are some of the things that athletics departments currently are doing right that can be used as building blocks?

A The athletics departments that are conducting thorough, slower and more inclusive searches that include faculty and non-athletics administrators in the hiring of their senior athletics administrators and head coaches are doing a better job. Those athletics administrations in which diversity is present not only in head coaching positions but in the assistant and associate coaches are doing a good job. There have been some great internship programs in some athletics departments that promote diversity and some great training going on in the student services side of athletics administration where diversity is part of students' orientation and integrated in their student-support services. Then there are success stories at individual universities and colleges that were instrumental in getting the office of diversity and inclusion formed at the NCAA.

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Q What are the critical components of a successful diversity and inclusion initiative?

A The first is issue-spotting. What are the issues? The second is being aware of the organization's overall strategy. Third is collaboratively establishing attainable goals and accountability standards to make sure people are held accountable for reaching those goals. Fourth is assembling the resources to attain your goals. Finally, it's doing a periodic assessment that's inclusive of all the stakeholders to determine your success and new challenges you need to meet in the future.

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Q When you seek cultural change, what type of behavioral shift do you need from the organization?

A This is a hard question. To begin with, it's dependent on the organization's culture. People want to know the benefits of any change. The behavioral change is influenced positively when people know what is in it for the organization. How will we change for the positive? If you're not cognizant of the benefits of diversity in that it enhances everyone in the organization, then it's more difficult to get people on board as far as behavioral change.

The key to diversity is making sure people understand that the enhancement of diversity is a competitive advantage. I emphasize that because one of the educational challenges I will have is making sure people understand diversity benefits everyone in the organization.

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Q What role does the national office play in modeling inclusive behavior?

A We not only have to walk the walk, we have to run the run. We've got to be a stellar role model in our hiring and promotion practices from top to bottom. One of the reasons I'm coming to the NCAA is that I'm very comfortable with the leadership -- not only comfortable -- I'm excited about our leadership. We've got to make sure that whatever tools and strategies we suggest to improve diversity, we're actually using similar tools and strategies within the NCAA. Then we've got to generate an excitement about diversity within our organization that ripples throughout the membership.