Four African Americans Who Have Been Named to University Diversity Positions

Anthony Jones is the new chief diversity officer at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. He was associate dean for diversity and inclusion at Thiel College in Greenville, Pennsylvania.

A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Dr. Jones is a graduate of the University of Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio. He holds a master’s degree in student personnel counseling and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies from Eastern Kentucky University.

Shavonne Shorter has been named associate provost for equity and inclusion and chief diversity officer at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. She will assume the role in January. Dr. Shorter has been serving as special assistant to the president for diversity, equity, and inclusion and is a tenured faculty member in the department of communication studies at Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania.

A native of Maryland, Dr. Shorter holds a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from Frostburg State University in Maryland and master’s and doctoral degrees in communication from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Bruce King will be the inaugural vice president for equity and inclusion at Elmhurst University in Illinois. He has been serving as the associate vice chancellor for racial equity at City Colleges of Chicago. Earlier, he was vice president for equity and inclusion, assistant to the president, and chief diversity officer at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.

King is a graduate of Iowa State University. He holds a master of social work degree from the University of Iowa.

Thomas Witherspoon is the new chief diversity office at the University of Tampa in Florida. He was the senior director of campus community centers — the African American Cultural Center, the Women’s Center, the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Center, and the Multicultural Student Affairs — at North Carolina State University.

Dr. Witherspoon holds a bachelor’s degree in English writing from Denison University in Granville, Ohio. He earned a master’s degree in education from Northeastern Illinois University and a doctorate in higher education administration from New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire.

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