Meet the new Multicultural Affairs Director

 Dr. Shakeer Abdullah, formerly a faculty member at Auburn University, has been hired as the new Director of Diversity and Inclusion for Capital University and Capital University Law School. His main office of responsibility at Capital’s main campus is the Director of the Multicultural Affairs Office (MAO). Dr. Abdullah, although he moved here from Alabama, is no stranger to Capital and to the Buckeye state.He was born and raised in Canton, OH, and graduated from Canton-McKinley High School. He received his undergraduate degree in Business Management from Wittenberg University in 1999 and also worked there for a few years as an admissions counselor.From there, Dr. Abdullah went to get his Master’s in Higher Education and Student Affairs from The Ohio State University in 2004 while working in their Multicultural Center. In 2006, Dr. Abdullah worked at Capital’s Law School as the Director of Multicultural Affairs.

He then transitioned to Auburn University as their Director of Multicultural Affairs while earning his PhD in Administration of Higher Education in 2012. Dr. Abdullah is also a husband to his wife Alida and a father of three children: his son, Josiah (seven); daughter, Ameena (three); and daughter, Surayyah (two).

Dr. Abdullah is a proud family man, as he comes from a large family himself with eight siblings on his mother’s side and more from his father’s side of the family. One of the reasons he decided to make the move from Auburn to Capital is that he would be in closer proximity to his family in Canton and would like his children to be able to grow up close to their relatives.

Coming from a very family oriented situation, Dr. Abdullah sees the Capital community as a family as well. Dr. Abdullah stated, “I like the metaphor of a family for Capital because families don’t always get along. They don’t always have sunny days and bright smiles.

You will clash with your family but you still live together and are tied together with a common thread, and in this instance, the common thread is Capital University. If we approach it with that mindset, we can get through the hard times and also celebrate one another’s successes.

That’s the nature of the game. If you don’t like your family, you still deal with it because you’re family.” Dr. Abdullah believes it’s important that we have a Multicultural Affairs Office because 85% of our college experience is spent outside the classroom, and as such, students need to be able to have the capacity to build diverse relationships. Also, the MAO supports underrepresented students.

According to Abdullah, “Research says if a campus climate is not welcoming to underrepresented students, they are more likely to leave the institution before graduating. They also have a negative perception about the institution and are less likely to give back once they’ve left.” He also emphasized in this interview that it’s important to get the message out there that the MAO is for everyone.

“It’s risky to do something that may seem outside the norm for your background,” Dr. Abdullah said. “Students don’t like to take risks, except for on the weekends with a new party. I would encourage them to take this risk. This is a healthy risk. It’s a good opportunity to help you be even more successful.”

Whether you need support and resources, or you need to gain increased awareness and skills to build and understand others of diverse backgrounds, or you want to learn about other cultures, you will only gain from stopping by.

Dr. Abdullah’s favorite quote: “The thing about stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete,” from Chimamanda Adiche, a Nigerian author. Dr. Abdullah shows a commitment to helping students go beyond their stereotypes and make friendships, partnerships, and/or collaborations that are going to last.

aparsley@capital.edu