In This Story
Chris Carr, the College of Engineering and Computing’s associate dean for diversity, outreach, and inclusive learning, embraces different. “I’ve been so exposed to different, I recognize that difference isn’t the scary thing, rather it’s the very thing that makes us wonderful,” said Carr. And he is taking that attitude to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where is he on a two-year loan from the college as part of the Intergovernmental Personnel Act Mobility Program.
Since coming to George Mason University in 2018, Carr has created an office and strengthened programs for student outreach. The work he was doing to create a welcoming, supportive environment for all students got noticed. “When EPA reached out, I was shocked because I was like, ‘How did you find me?’” He said that he had done some previous work connected with the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy during the Obama years, and EPA leaders had seen and liked those products.
During his interview process Carr laid out his philosophy: Everyone is invited. The door is open and organizations must create a culture of conversation and vulnerability. There are people on the side of being harmed or oppressed who are reluctant to come back to the table because they’ve been bruised in the past so we make it about healing. This is how we celebrate new ideas by bringing things to the table.
This resonated with the agency heads because Carr was asked to come on board, initially as a presidential appointment and permanent move. But he wasn’t nearly done with his work at Mason, he said, so he asked to be temporary, spending 80 percent of his time at EPA and the rest at Mason, for two years.
The agency was looking for someone who could steward them through the final stages of their diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) plan and to build their new office around those topics.
“My job was to come in and take this wide array of agency thoughts, concerns, and conversations and help turn that into an action plan. But a plan sits on a shelf. I’m familiar with the concept of ‘Strategic Doing,’ which leads to action. So I developed a plan involving establishing the office and hiring a director at a senior level who is empowered to do a good job.”
He said the type of role he has gives him some advantages. “I am not a political or career appointee, so I don’t have a bias on either side. For a lot of people at the agency, it was freeing. I am seen as an unbiased outside neutral facilitator, bringing in knowledge and data on the topic.”
EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe said, “Dr. Carr is an extremely people-focused leader who wasted no time diving into the culture and ethos of our agency. He came at a perfect time, when our DEIA efforts were really ramping up, and his insights and experience have helped us move forward in an informed and very thoughtful way.”
Carr said establishing of the Office of Inclusive Excellence is the accomplishment he ranks highest. “I’m very, very proud of that. I’ll be able to look back and say, ‘That office has a fingerprint of mine on it.’ That’s one of the most humbling things I have experienced. Before I’m done at EPA I’ll help with the hiring of the full-time person in that role and I can hand over my binder and have a successful launch.”
He's also gotten into the field, traveling to almost all regional offices. “I spend two or three days there and have office hours dedicated to hearing, without managers present, what people need to convey. It’s been one of the greatest privileges of my life to tell that story. EPA doesn’t just think about what’s happening today, but what’s coming tomorrow and beyond. Climate change and environmental justice, for example, will impact vulnerable communities first and worst.”
When Carr returns to Mason full-time, he wants to help each member of the Mason community realize their purpose and feel heard and actualized. Christi Wilcox, who works under Carr in her role as director for diversity, outreach, and inclusive learning, said, “The work we do in our office and how we engage with our peers and partners is never work that asks, ‘Where are we limited?’ but rather, ‘How can we serve, collaborate, and break ground?’”
Carr said, “At the end of the day we want to go home from our job and say, I have purpose and that is seen and felt and actualized. That’s what we’re all looking for. We’re contributing to the changing of the world. I try to create a space in which everyone has the opportunity to feel that way.”