ISU officials detailed their most recent efforts in their search for candidates to fill the position of chief diversity officer for the university on Feb. 18. In 2014, a search committee was formed to find eligible candidates and define the roles of the new position. Mark Hall, a senior associate of the consulting group The Spelman and Johnson Group, announced that the committee is still several months away from naming candidates as the responsibilities of the new position have yet to be defined.

This meeting was one in a series of town hall meetings that will be held until April and provide the ISU and Ames community opportunities to give input on the role of the chief diversity officer to the search committee.

ISU students and Ames residents should seize this opportunity for public input. The creation of this new position will increase the ability of international and minority students to have a fully enriched college experience. Giving these voices an official advocate for the first time will help the administration in reaching the totality of the student body and expressing the concerns of all students, not just the majority.

The number of American multicultural students attending Iowa State has nearly doubled since 2009, so the time has never been better for this position to come into existence at Iowa State. According to the Office of the Registrar’s fall 2014 enrollment statistics, there are nearly 8,000 international students as well as American multicultural students making up more than 20 percent of the student population.

This increase in the student population and diversity on campus obviously calls for more resources to support this growth. A role like a chief diversity officer would help support these multicultural and international students and ensure that this growth continues.

Taking advantage of this opportunity to speak could possibly make a large impact at Iowa State. This is because, at the Feb. 18 meeting, Hall said the responsibilities and role of this new position are still very much up in the air. Community members, especially students, can change this university for the better if they speak up and describe the role of their ideal chief diversity officer.

There must be substance behind this position. The individual chosen must be capable of creating positive change. If the role simply becomes a showcase for the university to say that it has an interest in advancing campus diversity, but no policy changes are made, then all this work in selecting a person to fill the role will be meaningless.

Thankfully, the early community involvement in the creation and selection process for the role indicates the university’s investment in the success of this position. The community input also means that the university wants students as well as the Ames community to be invested in the role of this soon-to-be-named employee.