Ziegler is currently the vice president of culture and inclusion for Bon Secours Mercy Health, a Catholic health care ministry.

He previously worked as the director of diversity, inclusion, equity and access at South Dakota State University. He was also the founding director for the English Language and Culture Institute at the university and is looking to continue his work at another higher education institution.

"In the current environment, we have what I'm calling our three very important moments in history that are happening at the same time, we have our COVID-19 pandemic, we're having an economic uncertainty as well as racial injustice," Ziegler said. "And I believe this gives an opportunity for diversity and inclusion to play a pivotal role in driving strategy for the organization, not just as the right thing to do, but as the smart thing, the right business thing to do to grow the school, to ensure that students are having a good experience and that we're achieving the research and academic excellence that we're setting out to do."

During the Q&A portion, Ziegler was asked about the importance of his role in these times, and he highlighted the need to make sure Black people feel safe, as well as focusing on the impact of COVID-19 on communities of color.

Ziegler said in order for MSU to become as diverse and inclusive as they wish to be, they must begin looking at diversity from an institutional equity standpoint.

"You have to start it by looking at institutional and systemic equity so that you can ensure that you have an inclusive environment where diversity can be celebrated, acknowledged and appreciated by all key stakeholders — so I believe that inclusion cannot occur until there's equity," Ziegler said. "So, with that approach in mind, what you want to do and what I view as a priority is to lay a strong foundation of diversity, equity and inclusion that ties to what the expectations are of our faculty, staff, what our expectations are of the students to ensure that we have a safe equitable and inclusive learning environments so that people's unique gifts, talents, and attributes and identities can be celebrated and be acknowledged as they're going through their learning or career journeys."

He addressed the need to look at what the university has done in the past, to analyze what MSU did well and what it can do better. He said it's about not just saying the right thing, but doing the right thing as well.

If given the position, he hopes to speak to the university's higher-ups to put together a strategic framework.

Within his presentation, he focused on three key values for the university, including safety in learning and living, engaging students, and empowering faculty and staff. Ziegler also said that equity is the overall priority and everyone must be able to see themselves at MSU.

"The other idea is to implement an equity lens into the hiring, into the promotion, into the strategic planning process and ensure that equity is a cornerstone of how we're treating people, how we're looking at our strategic planning process and how we're engaging in our hiring and advancement practices," Ziegler said.

Within the university's diversity, equity and inclusion strategy, he sees the steering committee, which is then divided by stakeholder groups and councils for diversity and inclusion.

Additionally, within the strategic overlay, he sees five strategic priority areas that exist for the campus community as a land grant institution. Those priorities include curriculum, innovation and research, people, culture and marketplace.

"By the end of the first year what I would want to see is that that strategic framework has been accepted and approved by the campus community and then the next year we can start putting things in place," Ziegler said. "I think there are things that you can do in the present, or that are urgent, that we would be able to respond to."

The moderators asked Ziegler about his potential transition from a business background to higher education. Although he has worked at a university before, it didn't compare to the size of MSU, and his work in healthcare provided him with that experience of working for a large institution.

He was also asked about the LGBTQ+ community and what current issues he wished to focus on, his main focus being the violence and mistreatment of trans women of color.

The other three finalists will be visiting the university virtually through Sept. 9.

The second finalist — DeBrenna LaFa Agbenyiga — will have her open forum on Sept. 1 at 12:30 p.m.