Stuart Robinson is in his first year as NYU Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Director of Athletics and is a member of the NCAA’s Minority Opportunity Interests Committee. He previously served as Director of Athletics, Wellness & Recreation at the State University of New York at New Paltz since 2001. Robinson began working at New Paltz as an assistant athletic director in 1994 and was also the men’s soccer head coach from 1992 to 2006. A 1983 graduate of Williams College, he earned a master’s degree in English from Middlebury College.
The UAA “Conversations About Race and Racism” series seeks to lift the voices of people of color and recognize the challenges faced in both athletics and academics at the collegiate level. By sharing personal stories, we hope to elevate the conversation about race to raise awareness and bring about change.
High School Experiences
“Going to prep school in a small town with brick buildings was a whole new world for me coming from New York City. Relatively early in my freshman year, a white friend invited me to dinner with his parents. It was a Saturday night and he told me to meet them at his dorm,” Robinson recollected. “I came up from the stairwell and my friend was at the other end of the hall with his parents’ backs facing me. He told them I was there so his mother turned around with her hand extended to shake my hand… once she saw me, she pulled away her hand when I extended mine and said, ‘We have to go’ and left. I didn’t know what to think or do. My friend was in shock, but he couldn’t argue with his parents. I didn’t know how to process this and had no one to talk to about it. That was the first time I was clearly reminded of my race in that sense.”
He initially struggled to find the right fit for him on campus. “I wanted to play soccer, which was a world of Michael’s and John’s, not people who looked like me. When I went to the Black Student Union (BSU), I was greeted by upperclassmen who told me, ‘This is where you hang out and belong, not with those other people. If you don’t join us, we will make your life difficult on this campus,’” he recalled.
As a sophomore. Robinson decided to have an open conversation with his faculty advisor that changed the course of his college experience. “He was a bearded Black man who was soft-spoken. I was very frustrated in a social sense of choosing a sport and identifying with the BSU. I was in a sociology class where the professor referred to me and a friend as ‘house nigger’ and ‘field nigger.’ My advisor let me vent,” he communicated. “Then he said, ‘Can I ask you a question? Did someone bring you here? Did someone bring you here in chains shackled to a ship? You came of your own free will so understand the power of your will. Everyone here is trying to survive. How we act in our survival mode is what makes us different. How do you want to survive and what do you want to get out of this opportunity?’”
That one conversation was a turning point that Robinson has never forgotten. “That was my ‘aha moment’ that helped me navigate the remainder of my undergraduate career. It was nearly 40 years ago now and I still remember that conversation clearly,” he reported. “We had not had a lot of interaction up to that point. Something compelled me to have that conversation and feel at ease expressing my feelings.”
What’s in a Name?
“My name doesn’t suggest a Black man,” Robinson noted. “Sight unseen, Stuart Robinson does not propound a culture behind it. It is a ‘fill in the blank’ name in terms of ethnicity. People have told me they expected me to be six feet tall and blond.”
He jokes that he had a one out of four chance of being named Stuart. “My name was literally chosen out of a hat,” he laughed. “My mom put four names into a hat. In addition to Stuart, they were Keith, Stanley, and Stephen.”
Challenges at Predominantly White Institutions
In his 1903 book, The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. DuBois spoke about “double consciousness,” which speaks of a “twoness” of being Black in a white society, of looking at oneself through the eyes of others. Robinson sees a similar duality in his career. “Being a Black man working in a predominantly white environment is an interesting dichotomy. What happens is that I am expected to function and behave in a certain way,” he explained. “We have seen the frustrations of people of color on college campuses and in society. Am I so assimilated that I don’t identify with the struggles and concerns? How do I walk the line? There is a way the public wants you to be so how do I navigate that as a Black man?”
He commented that there was a double consciousness in a groundbreaking presidency in the U.S. “For many people of color, the duality was on display during Barack Obama’s presidency. What does this represent and what does it really mean?” he questioned. “There were some who said he was not ‘Black enough’ while others said, ‘How dare you speak up and threaten the establishment?’”
Robinson has seen the duality play out in a profound way in his position. “Our job is to help students find their voice. As an administrator of color, there are times that I am asked to quiet my own voice, which is ironic. I am not always allowed to practice what I preach to students,” he revealed.
Advice for Administrators of Color
“I would strongly encourage any person of color who wants to get into administration to pursue it. We have a wonderful opportunity to teach, engage, and have an impact on the lives of others,” he described. “In order to do that, you have to check your ego at the door. Recognize and be clear about your motivations. You have to be a servant-leader. It is not about you, but about the student-athletes. You have to be selfless and to accept that the rewards will transcend any financial compensation. This is a great career.”
Robinson also advises combining being your own best advocate with finding a mentor or mentors. “You must be willing to put in the time and pay your dues. In order to break in, you have to be willing to have a voice and be around mentors who help you develop your voice and use it for change,” he communicated. “You don’t want to be a docile church mouse, but you also don’t want to be a screaming madman. You have to continue to develop a sense of who you are, ask the right questions, and demonstrate being a good listener at the same time.”
Due to the pandemic, Robinson did not meet in person with anyone at NYU through the search process, but his aim was unchanged. “My goal is to listen and learn, and then figure out how to lead. I didn’t go in and assume that everything was broken. It is important to hear what people have to say,” he remarked. “Societal expectations and culture now are that we want to comment on everything. A little silence goes a long way.”
Role of Allies
“1960s liberalism was marked by, ‘I’m going to tell you how you should feel instead of asking you how you feel.’ Don’t presume you know how someone else feels even if you are attempting to be supportive,” Robinson recommended. “We need to provide an ear rather than answers. Support and lending an ear are not the same as speaking and offering opinions.”
He thinks listening also makes things easier for allies to have conversations about race. “You don’t have to go in thinking you have to provide answers. Being supportive can start by simply asking how the other person is feeling,” he stated. “When we want to tell people how to act or how to behave based on what we would do, that is not fair. It is like using a viewfinder on the Empire State Building. We only see the city through that lens. I can’t presume you will see things the way I do. I have to get behind you to see the world through your lens and let that be the dialogue. That is what makes a better ally rather than saying you have the answer.”