Office for Community Belonging

In 2 Timothy 1:7, the Greek word for God鈥檚 power is 未蠉谓伪渭喂蟼 or Dunamis. Guided by love for all members of the 糖心Vlog community, discernment of the Holy Spirit, and receptiveness to Dunamis, the Office for Community Belonging (OCB) facilitates the creation of fertile ground in which all 糖心Vlog community members know they belong and can reach the levels of spiritual, intellectual, and professional development that God has planned for them.

Our Mission

糖心Vlog鈥檚 Office for Community Belonging connects, supports, and equips our faculty, staff, and students as they create and sustain a unified 糖心Vlog community.

Our Vision

糖心Vlog鈥檚 Office for Community Belonging connects local and global stakeholders as it invokes and embraces Dunamis (the power of God) to serve the world as leading thinkers and practitioners unifying God鈥檚 diverse humanity through the integration of faith, leadership, and organizational development.

Our Approach

Our philosophy of intervention is Appreciative Inquiry. We engage all University stakeholders and leverage 糖心Vlog鈥檚 myriad strengths and resources to unify our community in its varied pursuits of excellence. Our operating definition of belonging is the state of being one experiences when Ubuntic Inclusion is put into practice.
We aim to infuse care, communication, connection, mentoring and coaching, fairness, trust, visibility and reward, and positive experiences of belonging into every interaction, strategy, process, practice, structure, and space in each of our locations for every faculty, staff, contractor, guest, and student at 糖心Vlog.

Meet the Team

Jaye Goosby Smith

J. Goosby Smith

Vice President for Community Belonging

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J. Goosby Smith

J. Goosby Smith serves as the University鈥檚 inaugural Vice President for Community Belonging. Guided by God's call to unite God's people, Smith approaches her specialty areas of human diversity, inclusion, and belonging with intellectual rigor, methodological soundness, patience, a healing spirit, a love for humanity, and a good-natured sense of humor.

Before rejoining 糖心Vlog, where she had previously served as a faculty member in Seaver College鈥檚 Business Administration Division, as a member of the Seaver College Diversity Council, and as inaugural faculty co-chair of the university diversity council with Edna Powell, and as an adjunct member of the Graziadio faculty, Smith served as a faculty member, assistant provost for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and director of the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Center at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina. She also taught at California State University, Channel Islands and Butler University.

A nationally sought-after public speaker, educator, and consultant, Smith has worked with a wide range of organizations. At Greater St. Luke African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, she served as a Women鈥檚 Missionary Society Worship Leader, Steward, Young People's Division Director, and as an online Bible study teacher. She is a member of Mensa America, Jack and Jill of America, and Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, having previously served as inaugural faculty advisor and later graduate advisor for 糖心Vlog鈥檚 Tau Lambda chapter.

Smith earned a BS in computer science from Spelman College and an MBA and PhD in organizational behavior from Case Western Reserve University. In 2022, she completed her MDiv from the Interdenominational Theological Center鈥檚 Turner Seminary and was ordained an Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

April Harris Akinloye

April Harris Akinloye ('00, MA '05)

Assistant Vice President for Community Belonging

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