Jonathan Zur, '03
Breaking barriers: Former Jepson student teaches about discrimination and understanding
November 5, 2009
March 2009
Jonathan C. Zur’s professional role as chief operating officer for the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities falls squarely into the public service sector. His career path and commitment to civic engagement are outgrowths of his core values and his experience as a student at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies.
As a child, Zur began to learn the importance of diversity and justice. Through listening to the stories about his paternal grandparents, who are Holocaust survivors, he came to understand the significance of fairness and equality. Growing up in New Jersey, Zur participated in numerous programs such as “Anytown, N.J.” (now Lead for Diversity), which further strengthened his views that all people should be treated equally, independent of factors such as race or gender. These experiences left Zur with, as he states, "a feeling of purpose to work for equity and understanding."
These ideals came with Zur when he entered college at the University of Richmond. Zur spent much of his college career trying to understand how to promote inclusion more broadly, including gender, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity. For example, he spent several summers volunteering with the New Jersey chapter of the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ) on Anytown, a residential youth leadership program that encourages high school students to explore and celebrate diversity.
During the school year he volunteered at the NCCJ’s Richmond office to fulfill his service hours as a Bonner Scholar. Looking back on his time spent with the group Zur recalls, "I realize how much I learned and grew from the experience, both personally in terms of my understanding of my own identities and professionally in terms of program organization and delivery."
Zur subsequently used the Anytown model to help the Richmond Office of the Chaplaincy, working in collaboration with NCCJ, to develop a similar program for college students known as Collegetown. Collegetown continues on today as the Allies Institute.
As a student, he was a Bonner Scholar, president of the Jepson Student Government Association, recipient of the Jepson Servant Leader Award and a co-recipient of the James MacGregor Burns Award, which recognizes a graduating senior who has demonstrated an outstanding grasp of the body of knowledge associated with leadership studies, excelled in his/her studies at the university generally, been actively involved in service to the school, university and community; shown an ability to generalize and apply leadership theory and research in unique and imaginative ways, and displayed the capacity to lead others and help others lead themselves.
After graduation, Zur also worked closely with the Office of the Chaplaincy on an anti-bias project known as A More Perfect Union (AMPU), developed to address the bias, prejudice and discrimination experienced by South Asian, Muslim and Arab communities following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. AMPU, an inter-religious coalition in metro Richmond, attacked religious bias by developing educational programs for area schools, public service advertisements for television and a Web site dedicated to educating the public about different religions.
After a one-year stint as AMPU’s founding director Zur returned to New Jersey to work as a program manager with the New Jersey chapter of NCCJ. There he focused his efforts on two major initiatives, youth leadership development and workplace diversity. As a trainer and teacher, he provided programming to middle schools, high school, colleges and universities, workplaces and community organizations statewide. Zur also served on the faculty of a professional development program on diversity issues for middle and high school educators hosted in partnership with Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Zur’s commitment to volunteering led him to the co-chairmanship of the Jepson Alumni Networking Committee’s 150 Days in a Lifetime of Service campaign in 2008-09. “It promotes a certain type of service that is broadly focused, academically grounded, and that promotes both self-awareness and a heightened knowledge about community need," Zur said.
The 150 Days campaign has been a vehicle for students and alumni to connect and as Zur notes, "a way to reflect on our learning in the Jepson School and renew our commitment to the Jepson approaches to leadership and service." He hopes, "that members of the Jepson School community will continue to engage in service long after the project ends, and that the online group and blog will remain in place to connect and share."
This Reunion Weekend, he is honored for co-chairing the 150 Days in a Lifetime of Service campaign as well as for his work in the metro-Richmond community as a leading voice for inclusion and understanding.
In addition to his professional role, he manages to give many volunteer hours “on his own time” – including teaching classes at the University. He is the first Jepson graduate to be admitted to Leadership Metro Richmond and is one of its youngest active volunteers. He is involved in significant volunteer work with the organization, most notably advising on curriculum development. He also led the December 2008 LMR diversity retreat.
He is chief operating officer of the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, a human relations organization that promotes inclusion, challenges assumptions and advances understanding through dialogue, experiential learning and education. In his role, Zur develops and implements initiatives in each of the organization’s focus areas. Those areas are: emerging leaders, higher education, workplaces and community programs. The organization works to help individuals and groups break barriers that often separate members of society. As he travels the state presenting, teaching and facilitating discussions, Zur works tirelessly to promote equality and justice.
Zur is the recepient of the 2009 Jepson Award for Leadership and Service. This award recognizes a person who has taken an active role in community life and sets an example for others and whose actions reflect the mission of the Jepson School. The award was created in 2009, the 15th anniversary of the School’s first graduating class. During 2008-09, the Jepson School Alumni Networking Committee conducted a service program, the 150 Days in a Lifetime of Service campaign, in which graduates, students, faculty and staff reported on and reflected on their service in their communities.
Article ID: 402
