{"id":178753,"date":"2025-05-08T10:36:28","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T08:36:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=178753"},"modified":"2026-02-10T16:29:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T15:29:47","slug":"chief-diversity-officer-i-think-its-very-important-to-stay-on-course-especially-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2025\/05\/08\/chief-diversity-officer-i-think-its-very-important-to-stay-on-course-especially-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Chief Diversity Officer: \u2018I think it\u2019s very important to stay on course, especially now\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jane Murray Cramm had only just been appointed Chief Diversity Officer when the campus was rocked by pro-Palestine protests, a new government with far-right ministers and the election of Trump. “I\u2019m not worried, it just means that we need to counter events like this with our own perspective.”<\/p>\n

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Jane Murray Cramm in her office on the sofa that isn't supposed to be there.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPien D\u00fcthmann<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

\u201cWorking at the IDEA Center (IDEA stands for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Access, ed.), I learnt in the last year that the university is the world in miniature\u201d, Cramm says. \u201cAs one of the few organisational units to have feelers in every service department and faculty and with the student body, too, we can see that international events are having an impact on our people. I hadn\u2019t really realised it before, but it\u2019s exactly this that makes my work so rewarding. Consider Trump and his measures against diversity policy at American universities*; they\u2019re affecting the Netherlands and this university as well. But I\u2019m not worried; it really just means that we need to counter events like this with our own perspective and to continue to see the value and importance of diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n\t

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Jane Murray Cramm, Professor of Person-Centred Care at the Erasmus School of Health Policy and Management (ESHPM), replaced Semiha Denkta\u015f as the university\u2019s Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) on 1 April 2024.<\/p>\n

When asked why she had been chosen, she simply replies: \u201cI checked all the boxes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2705 She grew up in Eindhoven and lives in Hoensbroek, outside the Randstad<\/p>\n

\u2705 Her father is of Indonesian descent and was a car mechanic. Her mother sold shoes at the Bijenkorf department store. Cramm was the first person in her family to go to university<\/p>\n

\u2705 She is married to a woman and has three children<\/p>\n

\u2705 She is functionally disabled after a severe accident<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

Staying on course<\/h2>

Besides Trump\u2019s anti-diversity policy, the Netherlands is facing major cutbacks imposed by the Schoof government. Universities are being forced to make tough choices, possibly at the expense of diversity policy as well. The University of Groningen has already closed its diversity office.<\/p>\n

Cramm is not afraid that similar choices will be made in Rotterdam. \u201cThe Executive Board is very supportive. In its new strategy, the university is transitioning from an impact university to an engaged university. Of course I\u2019m biased, but I don\u2019t think this will be possible without regard to inclusion, diversity and accessibility. How can a university be engaged without knowing what\u2019s happening in society? You need to connect with everyone, not just rich, leftist or theoretically-educated people.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018Then we shouldn\u2019t work with America\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

\u201cI also think it\u2019s very important to stay on course, especially now. I don\u2019t see this as a problem either. If there are signs that America doesn\u2019t want to work with universities that have IDEA centres, then we shouldn\u2019t work with America. It hasn\u2019t come to this yet, but I think that Erasmus University Rotterdam in particular needs to show its ambition to become an engaged university and see it as an opportunity to raise its profile in this area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Real change<\/h2>
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Jane Murray Cramm, the EUR's third Chief Diversity Officer.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPien D\u00fcthmann<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Cramm comes across as calm and modest and chooses her words very carefully, but she certainly doesn\u2019t leave things unspoken. \u201cI start to get interested when things get difficult. In my research on shared decision-making between different patient groups and doctors, this happens when conversations become more strained. I still find it hard to explain a problem to doctors myself, so how difficult must that be for people with dementia or intellectual disabilities? How do you have conversations like that? I don\u2019t think it\u2019s enough to just write an article about my research; I want to ensure real change. That\u2019s also what I\u2019m thinking about when I look around on the campus. I did the same in my previous role as social safety officer and faculty diversity officer at the ESHPM.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe university\u2019s systems can be very sluggish sometimes, along the same lines as the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration but without all the allowance scandals. People sometimes find it too easy to hide behind systems. For example, when students with disabilities ask the faculty for something and are then told: \u2018sorry, we don\u2019t do that; you need to contact REF\u2019, they may not realise that REF is the university\u2019s facility centre. Examples like this made me think that there must be a way to improve the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sofa in the office<\/h2>

Cramm knows from her own experience that you \u2018sometimes have to go up against these systems a bit\u2019. \u201cI had a very serious accident when I was 20 \u2013 I was run over by a truck. Afterwards, I was in a medically-induced coma for a while and then spent one-and-a-half years learning how to walk again. Some 40 operations later, I\u2019m held together by steel pins.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of my accident, I\u2019m often tired and in pain, which is why I wanted a sofa in my office. That way, I can lie down for a while every now and again. However, the rule is that we\u2019re all entitled to a certain amount of workspace and that isn\u2019t big enough for a sofa. After a lot of fuss, my manager said: \u2018I don\u2019t care what anyone says, we\u2019re putting a sofa in here.\u2019 I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ll be able to solve every issue, but people can approach me about issues like this as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not on the barricades<\/h2>

Cramm does not see her role as CDO as one that puts her at the forefront of a situation or at the barricades. \u201cI want to resolve issues behind the scenes, making the community just a little bit stronger \u2013 for example, by organising a difficult conversation between people who are in danger of becoming polarised. It makes me happy if I\u2019m able to get them to come together and help others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018There are holes in the system where support for certain groups is concerned\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Amongst other things, Cramm wants to get the university to improve the care it provides to employees with disabilities and the LGBTQ+ community. \u201cThere are holes in the system where support for these groups is concerned. Employee surveys show that job satisfaction is lower and work pressure higher among these people, so there\u2019s clearly a problem. Whether that\u2019s a blind spot on the part of the organisation or the culture in a department is what we\u2019re trying to identify, using round-table discussions to identify needs and other tools.<\/p>\n

Discussing gender-neutral toilets<\/h2>

\u201cI think that opinions are more polarised now, partly because of Trump. The discussion about gender-neutral toilets, for example, is one we\u2019re all familiar with now. In my opinion, a university should be the ideal place to engage with each other \u2013 not in a debate, but real dialogue, so not just presenting your own point of view alongside someone else\u2019s but coming together in a two-way conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a problem for both sides, because I\u2019m also being told that students with a right-wing perspective aren\u2019t able to make their voices heard, that many lecturers are quite left-wing and that lecturers laugh about ideas that are different to their own. That\u2019s a shame, of course. However, I also know lecturers who for example stop their lessons when the subject of pronoun use arises and say, \u2018at last, something worth talking about\u2019 and allow students to discuss it. Vice versa, emotions can run high even in professional discussions about market forces in health care. I believe that the IDEA Center can help provide tools for conversations like these, to both staff and students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opportunities board game<\/h2>

While Cramm is not afraid that the IDEA Center will fall prey to the cuts, she knows what the university would miss out on if it did. \u201cIf we want to become an engaged university, we can draw on our wealth of experience to help make this happen. For example, we already know plenty about inclusive education and outreach to secondary schools in underprivileged neighbourhoods in Rotterdam. We\u2019ll be launching a handbook based on our experiences soon and have also developed tools like the opportunities board game.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to use these assets to put ourselves on the map more. Everyone says they want to be inclusive and reach out to other groups. That\u2019s all very well, but how? Our researchers often ask themselves similar questions: how can we reach all Rotterdammers? Which method should we use? One of our junior researchers is due to start a PhD programme on this subject in early September.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Cramm, diversity and inclusion are about more than just a rainbow zebra crossing or rainbow flags. \u201cI want to talk about the big picture of an inclusive and engaged university. I believe this is the best way for our university to become really meaningful to all the different groups in Rotterdam, as well as nationally and internationally. That would be great.\u201d<\/p>\n\t

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* After this interview, it was announced that Harvard is changing the name of the diversity office to Community and Campus Life department<\/em>. EM asked Cramm about this and she responded in writing: “Harvard emphasised its ongoing commitment to strengthening community spirit, connecting students, and supporting first-generation and low-income students. At first glance, these goals appear largely in line with what is understood under diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).<\/p>\n

“Nonetheless, a name is not just a label \u2013 it provides direction, creates expectations, and establishes accountability. An explicit reference to DEI holds an organisation publicly accountable for these issues. By opting for a more neutral name like \u2018Department of Community and Campus Life’, there is greater room to change course without it being immediately noticed or questioned. This offers flexibility but also makes it easier to drift away from the original mission.<\/p>\n

“It is concerning that terms such as diversity, equity, and inclusion have become so contentious within certain circles. There seems to be confusion over what DEI stands for: it does not concern preferential treatment or identity politics, but rather the removal of structural barriers, the creation of equal opportunities, and the building of a safe, accessible university where all students and staff feel seen and supported. At the IDEA Center, we are here for the entire EUR community, but the values we uphold remain explicit: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility \u2013 IDEA. And we remain firmly committed to these principles.”<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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