The University of Chicago Diversity & Inclusion

It’s difficult to know whether she holds the record, but Ms. Chandler worked at the University for well over half of its history, joining the staff as a teenager in 1934. Her service took many forms over the next 77 years, as she worked with many of the institution’s leaders and famed researchers. In the days before she died on May 12 at age 93, President Robert J. Zimmer visited her bedside to tell her the University’s annual staff recognition event would now be called the Alice Chandler Staff Service Recognition Ceremony.

Friends, family and colleagues of Ms. Chandler will gather to celebrate her life, spirit and achievements at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 15, in the Cloister Club of Ida Noyes Hall. The event, “Remembering Alice,” will be followed by a reception from 5:30-6:30 p.m.

The first staff recognition ceremony named after Ms. Chandler will be held on Tuesday, June 14. President Zimmer detailed the ceremony’s name change in a letter he sent to Ms. Chandler: “The printed program and President’s remarks each year will recognize your years of service. You have been an inspiration to all of us, and I believe that this is an appropriate and well-deserved recognition of your contributions to one of the great universities in the world.”

Ms. Chandler’s home bears the signature traits of her unassuming personality. An antique alabaster pedestal with splendid craftsmanship has been carefully preserved. Instead of putting it on obvious display, she tucked it in a corner.

Ms. Chandler never did like the spotlight. A visitor might walk right past another pedestal made of marble, sitting in a dim hallway that leads to the stately set of 16th-century sofas she inherited from her mother.

Born in Alabama in 1918, Ms. Chandler grew up on the South Side of Chicago during the Great Depression when homelessness was rampant and half the city was unemployed.

“Alice was not about possessions, but if she came into them, she took care of them as a responsibility. She respected everything,” said Gail Peek, JD,’84, Ms. Chandler’s daughter-in-law. “But to really understand what floated her boat, look this way and that way.” Floor-to-ceiling windows on the east side of Ms. Chandler's apartment offer an opulent view of Lake Michigan. Directly across the living room, a grand view frames the University of Chicago campus, fitting for a woman considered one of the University’s guardian angels.

Ms. Chandler came to the University at age 16 through a New Deal federal employment stimulus program started by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression, Peek said. Stories vary about what her initial post was, but by age 18 she was promoted to secretary for renowned anthropologist and sociologist William Lloyd Warner. While working at UChicago, she attended Roosevelt University in the evenings, earning her bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1949. She spent part of her career in the 1950s and 1960s as a student advisor in the Committee on Human Development and went on to manage the President and Provost’s offices. At every post, Ms. Chandler was known to diligently care for each task, each student and each colleague.

Ms. Chandler’s son, Dean, a retired chemistry professor who lives in Texas, remembers inviting Professor Emeritus in Psychology Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, PhD ’65, to speak on creativity at the Institute for the Humanities at Salado. An internationally celebrated researcher on positive psychology and the author of Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention, Csikszentmihalyi could not accept many of his speaking invitations. The institute’s director sent Csikszentmihalyi an email and wrote that Dean Chandler’s mother, Alice, would be there and wanted him to speak.

“He wrote back that he hadn’t given a talk in several years, but in light of the fact that Alice was coming, tell him when and where,” Dean Chandler recalled. Ms. Chandler had no idea why Csikszentmihalyi thought she was special, but at the event, he jogged her memory. Csikszentmihalyi told the audience that he would not be successful if Ms. Chandler had not hustled to dig up scholarship money for him to continue undergraduate studies at UChicago more than 30 years earlier. She helped so many students over the decades that she had lost track.

The Alice Chandler Staff Service Recognition Ceremony will be held Tuesday, June 14 to recognize University staff members who have served at least 10 years, and to honor their years of service in five-year increments. Ms. Chandler's length of service and dedication to the University are exactly why staff members are formally recognized.

Her former colleagues in the President and Provost’s offices crack up laughing and break down crying at the impact Ms. Chandler had on their lives, personally and professionally. Some knew her for only five years, while others remember meeting her nearly 40 years ago. They called her their rock. She called them her “peeps.”

“My first impression of her was, ‘Wow, she means business,’” said Anne Casey, executive assistant and manager in the Office of the Provost, who met Ms. Chandler in 1976. “When she came everything started to work, to move. Alice organized us and took charge of things when we were floundering around.”

Ms. Chandler often snatched difficult tasks away from others, knowing she could get them done quicker. “She’d say ‘just give it to me; I’ll take care of it’,” recalled Ingrid Gould, associate provost for faculty and student affairs. “She was generous with her time, money and advice. She had a nose for who needed to be rescued and helped them get to solid ground.”

One of those people was Judy McKissack. Ms. Chandler encouraged McKissack in June 2005 to accept the position as executive secretary to the Board of Trustees. McKissack was not sure she’d fit in well, but Ms. Chandler assured her and guided her through the transition. "In moments of doubt she told me, 'Judy, suck it up, sit down and have a talk,'" McKissack said, laughing. “She had strong opinions, but she was usually right.”

Casey said Ms. Chandler's death feels like an empty hole in the office. Her memory is everywhere. Even in hospice care, days before her death, she was calling the office with little tasks she still needed to complete, making sure everyone was OK.

“Now,” McKissack said, “it will take all of us to do her job.”

By Kadesha Thomas

Nimocks once helped provide security at the meeting place, the Gary Comer Youth Center in Grand Crossing, when the Comer Foundation first broke ground on the building. Now he is a leader in the University’s efforts to help grassroots groups revitalize neighboring communities.

The transition to neighborhood ambassador seems natural for Nimocks, who says outreach was always part of his police jobs, first with the Chicago Police Department, where he retired as a deputy superintendent, and then as chief of the University of Chicago Police Department.

“Part of being a police chief means you can hardly separate yourself from the community you serve,” Nimocks says. “You have to be innovative and try to discover ways you can be helpful and increase the public safety.”

One thing that hasn’t changed is Nimocks’ restless energy. The Grand Crossing meeting begins at 8:30 a.m. By lunch, he will have met with the director of the Woodlawn New Communities Program and the organizers of two on-campus summer programs for high school students, and helped coordinate Mayor Richard Daley’s visit to Woodlawn for an anti-violence rally.

But a slower pace wouldn’t suit Nimocks, who sets his watch 35 minutes fast and “relaxes” by driving a motorcycle every summerto Fairbanks, Alaska, playing Louis Armstrong or Antonin Dvorak on the bike’s radio.

“I’ve been getting by on five, six hours of sleep for a long time,” Nimocks says. “When I was a homicide detective [with the CPD], I’d just climb up on a table and sleep for a little while, then get up and get back to work. And that was for three or four days at a time.”

Unique Perspective on Local Development

A resident of the nearby Woodlawn neighborhood for more than a half-century, Nimocks seems to know a story for every building he passes on his frequent drives through the community. One new apartment building summons memories of his days with the CPD, when he worked with local residents to drive drug dealers from that spot. Driving down 63rd Street, he describes how the area has changed for the better since the city tore down the El tracks that used to hang over the strip.

Such street-by-street knowledge of local neighborhoods gives Nimocks a unique perspective, says Ann Marie Lipinski, Vice President for Civic Engagement.

“Rudy is both a community and University treasure,” Lipinski says. “He has an enthusiasm for his work that is contagious, and he is tireless in looking for ways to connect the University with its neighbors. I've learned a lot from Rudy and feel very fortunate to have him working in this new role.”

His background also helps Nimocks understand how South Side communities view the University—an interaction that has been difficult at times. Nimocks says the relationship has changed for the better since his days as a homicide detective in the CPD, when Woodlawn, Grand Crossing, and Washington Park faced worsening local economies and rising crime rates.

A key lesson of that time is that a lack of engagement hurts both the University and nearby communities, Nimocks says.

“In the ’50s and ’60s, these were very desirable, stable neighborhoods,” Nimocks says. “But with riots going on all over the city, violence and drugs were able to degrade them,” and the University withdrew more from its neighbors.

Part of Nimocks’ current job is rebuilding the trust that was damaged in those previous decades. He says there’s a special value in programs that take College students into the community or bring local students to the campus for learning opportunities.

“I think the greatest asset the University has is worldwide expertise—bright students and programs that can reach into neighborhood communities,” Nimocks says. He cites the University’s Collegiate Scholars program, which offers summer enrichment classes to Chicago Public School students, as one example of how the University is extending its resources to local youth.

A Community Ambassador

The role of ambassador suits Nimocks well as he greets familiar faces at the Gary Comer Youth Center in Grand Crossing, southwest of campus. He and close to 50 community members have assembled to hear the findings of 12 researchers from the Urban Land Institute, who spent the week in Grand Crossing observing the neighborhood and writing recommendations for a community revitalization proposal.

The team of urban planners and academics recommended that Grand Crossing redevelop local parklands into a vibrant community center, and find other ways to increase community spirit in the small neighborhood through community gardening and educational youth programs.

After the researchers finished their presentation, Nimocks stood up and offered the group a word of advice:

“Based on my experience as Chief of Police for UCPD, I can tell you that when you see a neighborhood start to redevelop along the lines that you have outlined here, you will see public safety increase dramatically. The two go hand in hand.”

Nimocks has tried to live his own advice in his off-duty life by joining the boards of community organizations like Blue Gargoyle and the Woodlawn New Communities Program.

Arvin K. Strange, director of WNCP, noted Nimocks’ dedication in their late-morning meeting. “Rudy is really an unsung hero here in Woodlawn … and I’m very sure Washington Park and Kenwood feel that way as well.”

Soon Nimocks was off to Grove Park Plaza, a housing development where he is working to bring children to campus for another summer program. In the long run, he believes, such efforts can help local kids view the University not only with trust, but with hope.

“That’s what a university can do in a neighborhood—get its kids to think differently about their future.”

By Rachel Cromidas

Through Collegiate Scholars, Ransom helps high–achieving Chicago Public School students learn their educational options and obtain the tools to excel at the next level. More than half of all Collegiate Scholars are first–generation college students, and more than 80 percent are minorities.

“The fellowship could not have been awarded to a more deserving person,” said Sonya Malunda, Associate Vice President in the Office of Civic Engagement. “I look forward to witnessing how this leadership experience will help Kim strengthen and enhance the success she has already achieved with the Collegiate Scholars Program.”

Ransom is one of 10 fellows chosen from nearly 100 nonprofit applicants for their demonstrated leadership and commitment to their field. Founded in 1915, The Chicago Community Trust is a community foundation helping donors support local organizations working to improve metropolitan Chicago through the arts, basic human needs, community development, education and health.

“The community fellowship selection committee was very impressed with Ms. Ransom’s commitment to help public school students succeed at the top–tier universities,” says Ngoan Le, vice president of programs at the trust. “She also proves to have great potential to be a strong leader who can create greater positive impact for young people and the community.”

Ransom will receive $30,000 to fund professional development activities throughout 2011, resources she will use to explore the technical aspects of leadership — including organizational behavior, team development, strategic planning and capacity building — as well as what she calls “the spirit of leadership.”

“The spirit of leadership is what I call the ‘poetic thingamajig‘ that makes great leaders want to lead,” said Ransom. “It is the seed that lives inside them that drives them.”

As part of her leadership journey, Ransom will shadow five nonprofit leaders working on youth, education and health issues and eight Collegiate Scholars alumni; attend a series of executive leadership courses; and work with an executive coach.

Ransom, a Chicago native, will document her year through film, prose and poetry, culminating in a performance and presentation of her work to inspire other emerging leaders. She also looks forward to using the experience of her fellowship year to identify ways of enhancing education, particularly with the CPS.

“My hope is that I will be changed as a leader and that I will better know how to use my own gifts to make an even stronger impact on the work of helping Collegiate Scholars gain access to top universities but, even bigger than that, to help me understand how to build leadership in our young people,” Ransom said.

By Sarah Galer

Over the years, his firm had an occasional relationship with the University of Chicago, but only since the advent of the Office of Business Diversity, commissioned by President Zimmer in 2006, has Hollins become a regular University vendor. “The University is a wonderful institution and a demanding client,” Hollins says, “I mean that in a complimentary way. As always, we bring our best game to play on your turf. And we like to stay on top of our game.”

Nadia Quarles, Director of the Office of Business Diversity, has made it her mission to connect minority- and women-owned businesses, to the University, which can sometimes seem like an intimidating customer.

When Quarles first began her work, she contacted local businesses and found that though many owners expressed a desire to work with the University, most “had no idea how to get their foot in the door.”

In response, Quarles developed two programs: Direct Connect and the South Side Business Development Initiative. The first creates opportunities to connect minority- and women-owned businesses to the University, and the second aims to build the capacity of small businesses located on the South Side so that they can take on large clients.

Forming direct connections

In developing Direct Connect, Quarles notes that “in a decentralized environment, it is important to create personal connections and introductions. People will do business with people they know, like, and feel they can trust to get the job done.

“There are a lot of opportunities here for qualified minority- and women-owned businesses. Although we are only a staff of two, we work hard to create as many connections as possible.”

Quarles says that Direct Connect generates and maintains stable partnerships between the University and local businesses in two ways: “First, it makes University departments aware that there are quality minority- and women-owned businesses that can supply their needs. Second, it creates opportunities for relationship-building between purchasing departments and strong local businesses.”

Gwynne Dilday, Associate Vice President of Human Resources for the University, says the Office of Business Diversity “has made a tremendous difference, by making the issue of business diversity frontal lobe for people. Also, they do an excellent job of investigating the quality of work that firms can provide.”

Dilday, who awarded The Hollins Group with its recent contract, says that she interviewed several firms when she had a need for an executive search service. She adds, “In the end, I felt The Hollins Group understood most clearly the qualities I was looking for in a candidate, and it has been a very successful collaboration.”

Smaller-scale development

The South Side Business Development Initiative focuses on smaller and less-established businesses than The Hollins Group. The program aims to leverage University resources to help grow their capacity to do business with large institutions.

Quarles notes, ”There are many thriving businesses on the South Side that are too small to contract with the University, but that should not stop us from becoming a resource for those entrepreneurs.” This year, the office began partnering with the Chicago Booth’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and the Law School’s Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship to offer free workshops for local businesses.

In the future, Quarles hopes to build on the office’s success and to expand the presence of women- and minority-owned businesses in traditionally underrepresented areas within the professional services industry.

“The University has done a good job representing women- and minority-owned businesses in some areas like food service and construction,” Quarles says. “I want to make more connections like The Hollins Group and promote the visibility of excellent minority businesses that provide goods and professional services as well.”

Derrick Buckingham, director of The Hollins Group, says, “My growing relationship with the University has been a wonderful experience. I find that the University doesn’t treat its vendors any less rigorously than its students.”

The Hollins Group has certainly shown that they are equal to the challenge.

By Deva Woodly