Tim Topper to leave Chapman Oct. 20; community members react

Topper, who helped create the Cross Cultural Center, explained to The Panther that a plethora of reasons made him decide to leave. TIFFANY LE, Staff Photographer.

The rollercoaster of changes sweeping through Chapman’s Student Engagement team has hit yet another sudden turn: Tim Topper is leaving Chapman University. Coming on the heels of the resignations of Mike Keyser, former director of Fitness and Recreation Services, and Shishei Tsang, former program coordinator for the Cross-Cultural Center (CCC), Topper’s departure will leave yet another vacancy in the department. 

Topper, the sole remaining program coordinator for the CCC, has worked at the center since its inception in 2017. He said he feels a lack of support from the university administration in expanding the influence of the CCC and an absence of new challenges to grow professionally. 

As the job is one that takes an emotional toll, he is disappointed in the university’s treatment of the position.

“(Working at the CCC) becomes more than a job, (but) the institution treats it solely as a job,” Topper told The Panther. “If I’m not going to get support where students are asking for support … it’s pretty disappointing because it shows you can do an amazing job (and) unfortunately none of (Chapman’s diversity issues) changed.”

Topper, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe, accepted a job with the American Indian Studies Department at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he will begin on Oct. 25. He will assist the department chair, facilitate programs and services for the department and assist indigenous students.

“(I) not only get to use a lot of my personal expertise … and my cultural upbringing as part of my work, but (the) position also helps me narrow the scope of my work,” Topper said. “What I’m doing now (at Chapman) — having to be an individual from an underrepresented group to be an advocate for all underrepresented groups and their voices on campus — can be a difficult task. Having them more focused on one kind of identity or few identities is a little bit easier and something that I'm looking forward to.”

Allie Chow, a senior global communications major who works in the CCC as an assistant, believes that the administration’s lack of support for the center, its employees and the students it serves contributed to the departures of Topper and Tsang.

“I think it just kind of shows how unwilling our administration is when it comes to listening to diverse voices and how they don’t really care about people like Tsang or Topper or people like the CCC is made for,” Chow told The Panther. “If they did care, they would have tried to keep them employed here or at least replace them when they decided to leave.”

The exodus from Student Engagement this year will render the department a third of its original size. The department is currently still in the process of identifying how to divide Topper’s workload among the remaining team until a replacement is hired with assistance from Topper in his final days on campus.

Chris Hutchinson, assistant vice president of Student Engagement, is currently unsure on how the department will proceed, but said he is confident in his team.

“We have a phenomenal team that is really good at stepping in and making sure that the students (and) the programs that we do for (them) on the campus remain our focus,” Hutchinson said. 

The resignations from Student Engagement reflect a larger phenomenon across the country, as 55% of Americans look to leave their jobs in the wake of the ongoing pandemic. Topper and Tsang’s departures in particular also reflect the high turnover in the field of diversity, inclusion and equity. 

“(Topper has) been trying to bring up the conversation of diversity and trying to help Chapman,” Chow said. “Chapman isn’t a very diverse school or a school that’s a pioneer in diversity. We’ve definitely been trying to change that narrative and just doing a lot of work that probably wasn’t asked of him. I think it’s unfortunate that all of this effort that he’s made, unfortunately, hasn’t made much progress because of the administration not listening to him (or) other diverse voices.”

For Topper, his work at the CCC and his legacy at Chapman has been about planting seeds for change in the future. 

“I’m proud of what the CCC’s been able to do (to) establish relationships with other departments and other colleagues or students on campus where (they) can turn to us for assistance when it comes to identity-based needs or programs,” Topper said. “I’d say even for the next five years … it sets up a bigger opportunity for them or helps you know there's already a path that's been built where people can reach out to the CCC.”

Chow told The Panther that the employees working in the CCC do not yet know who will fill the shoes of both Shishei and Topper. The university could either select an individual from another department on campus to fill the role or find a new hire.

“Staffing the Cross Cultural Center remains an absolute priority for us, and we will take this opportunity to re-examine program needs to determine the optimal staffing structure,” Dean of Students Jerry Price wrote in an email to The Panther. “We will begin conducting such an assessment immediately and then proceed accordingly.”

Reginald Stewart, this year’s new hire for the Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) on campus, will be overseeing upcoming changes to the CCC. His role encompasses all DEI related work across campus and will take an active role in shaping the center’s future.

“The professionals who work in DEI are some of the most valuable assets a university has,” Stewart wrote in an email to The Panther. “Whenever people leave those roles (it) is a significant loss. I will actively be involved with the evolution of the Cross Cultural Center, and I believe it is well positioned to attract strong new leadership.”

Jaclyn Dreschler, the current assistant director of Student Engagement, worked with Topper, Tsang and Kayla Wiechert, the program specialist for student engagement, to support student organizations. Dreschler told The Panther that while she is happy for the new opportunities that Tsang and Topper will have, she is also sad to see them go.

“The Department of Student Engagement operates as a team, and it’s always a loss when staff transition out,” Dreschler said in an email to The Panther. “Over the past few years, Topper, (Shishei) and I have worked together with colleague Kayla Wiechert … (and) our wonderful student staff to ensure the success of (student) organizations. With the start of the new year and their transition out, Kayla and I are continuing to focus on organization success across all areas.”

Topper looks forward to the challenges he will face in his upcoming role at UCLA and welcomes the opportunity to engage in advocacy in a more supportive environment. 

“I want to be able to use my skills (that I’ve acquired in) the past five years and to be able to apply it to make an actual difference, rather than sit on it and waste it where we’re not getting the same kind of support,” Topper said.