Be better than good.
That four-word mantra—passed down from strict but loving Bermudian parents—has been the north star guiding the essential work done by Rose Wilson-Hill on behalf of diversity and inclusion efforts at The Ohio State University over the past half century.
A living link to the origins of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Wilson-Hill—who retired as the director of administration special projects on January 1—came to the university in 1971 alongside Dr. Frank Hale, an iconic figure who had landed a new position as associate dean of The Graduate School.
With Ohio State top brass being pressed by Black students to do more for students of color, Dr. Hale was given an expanded role covering curriculum, fellowships and minority affairs. And his first hire was Wilson–Hill who had worked as his trusted assistant at Oakwood University, a historically Black college in Alabama where Hale had served as president.
“I thought this would be interesting. We're creating a new office and I thought, “Why not?” recalled Wilson-Hill during a 2020 interview. As the pair began their work at Ohio State, they quickly realized the university was far from welcoming to students of color. “We sat and talked about how we could create this minority affairs portion of the work and make it viable, make it critically viable,” she said.
Told by various department heads that they couldn't find qualified Black students for their graduate programs, Wilson-Hill and Hale hatched a recruitment plan using their contacts at historically Black institutions across the South.
“Oh, we said, We'll find you some,” she said. “We knew immediately that we had to make it happen.”
Those annual road trips across the South lasted for nearly two decades with Wilson-Hil—and Hale for a time—pitching Ohio State's Graduate School to Black undergraduates looking to further their studies. “It was all about cementing relationships at that point,” she said. “We wanted to ultimately bring a more multicultural look to the student population at Ohio State at the graduate level.”
Along with the road show, the pair also launched the Graduate and Professional Student Recruitment Program to bring these students to campus to meet department heads and get a taste of the campus. “It was a mission for me because I knew we were all God's children,” she said. “And each of us has talent.” In time, their efforts began to pay dividends as Ohio State became the top producer of Black PhDs in the country at one point during the 1980s. “That was no small feat. It was a lot of rolling up the sleeves and getting the job done,” Wilson-Hill said.
Over the decades, Wilson-Hill's intellectual fortitude and meticulous attention to detail have been brought to bear on countless ODI initiatives, including overseeing the creation of the Student Academic Services (SAS) building, creating the President and Provost Diversity Lecture and Cultural Arts Series as well as establishing a national conference on diversity that exists today in its 26th year.
As the daughter of a father who was a builder in Bermuda, Wilson-Hill took particular pride in her role as the lead officer for the $66 million SAS building and garage. She remembered her father's saying “be better than good” as she worked long hours overseeing the construction.
“When you think you've gotten to that pinnacle, there's a little bit more that you can give,” Wilson-Hill said. “My father felt that's what you had to do in life to be a success.”
As Wilson-Hill reflects on her half century of diversity, equity and inclusion work, she is most proud of the countless lives she has touched. “I don't think of it as 50 years. I think of it as something that I love doing,” she said. “I've had the humble privilege of touching lives.”