Four African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to Diversity Posts

Galen Gomes is the new director of diversity and inclusion at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York. He was a senior staff associate for Educational Opportunity Centers operations at the SUNY University Center for Academic and Workforce Development in Albany.

Dr. Gomes earned a bachelor’s degree in English and African American studies from the University at Albany. He hold a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Boston College and an educational doctorate in executive leadership from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York.

Linda Strong-Leek, provost a Haverford College in Pennsylvania has been given the added duties of the college’s interim chief diversity officer. She became provost this past August after serving for five years as provost a Berea College in Kentucky. Prior to joining the faculty at Berea College in 2002, Dr. Strong-Leek taught at Florida International University in Miami. She is the author of Excising the Spirit: A Literary Analysis of Female Circumcision (Africa World Press, 2009).

Dr. Strong-Leek holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from North Carolina Central University in Durham. She earned a Ph.D. in English with concentrations in African and African American literature and African American history at Michigan State University.

Enobong “Anna” Branch has been promoted to senior vice president for equity at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She had been serving as vice chancellor for diversity, inclusion, and community engagement at Rutgers. Earlier, Dr. Branch was associate chancellor for equity and inclusion and a professor of sociology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Dr. Branch is a graduate of Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she majored in biology. She holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University at Albany of the State University of New York System.

Shaniqua Crawford was appointed institutional equity officer, equal opportunity officer, and Title IX coordinator at the University of Oklahoma. She has been serving as Title IX coordinator and as director of equity at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Crawford is a graduate of Georgia Southern University, where she majored in history and philosophy. She earned a juris doctorate at Ohio Northern University.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

Higher Education Gifts or Grants of Interest to African Americans

Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.

In Memoriam: William Strickland, 1937-2024

Strickland spent his lifetime dedicated to advancing civil rights and Black political representation. For four decades, he served as a professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he taught courses on Black history and the civil rights movement.

UCLA and Charles Drew University of Medicine Receive Funding to Support Equity in Neuroscience

Through $9.8 million in funding, the Dana Foundation will establish the UCLA-CDU Dana Center for Neuroscience & Society, which aims to gain a better understanding of the neuroscience needs of historically underrepresented communities in Los Angeles.

American Academy of Physician Associates Launches Program to Increase Diversity in the Field

"Increasing the representation of healthcare providers from historically marginalized communities is of utmost importance for improving health outcomes in all patients,” said Jennifer M. Orozco, chief medical officer of the American Academy of Physician Associates.

Featured Jobs