Three African Americans Who Are Taking on New Administrative Roles Relating to Diversity

Heather Moore Roberson is the new dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. She is an associate professor of community and justice studies and Black studies and director of faculty diversity and inclusion at the college. Dr. Moore Roberson joined the Allegheny faculty in 2015 and received tenure in 2021, becoming one of the first Black women to do so in the college’s history.

Dr. Moore Roberson is a graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in American studies from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Lonnie Thompson is the new chief diversity officer at Polk State College in Winter Haven, Florida. He was director of equity, inclusion, Title IX, and counseling and accessibility services at Daytona State College.

Thompson holds a bachelor’s degree from Fort Valley State University in Georiga. He earned a master’s degree from Indiana University.

Jamie Parson has been named chief diversity officer at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. She has served in the role on an interim basis since May 2021. She is also an associate professor in the department of finance, banking, and insurance in the university’s College of Business.

Parson holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology-anthropology from Nebraska Wesleyan University and a juris doctorate from the University of Nebraska College of Law.

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