Diversity

Derek A. James was appointed dean of equity, diversity, and inclusion at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Noura Allen was named director of diversity and inclusive excellence for the College of Professional Studies at Syracuse University and Jeanine Staples-Dixon, a professor at Pennsylvania State University. was appointed the senior faculty mentor in the Office of Educational Equity.

Taking on new assignments relating to diversity are Kendra Jason at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Rodmon King at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Chanelle Whittaker at Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Maryland, and Harold Wallace III at Wichita State University in Kansas.

Garrett Green was appointed chief diversity officer at Augusta University in Georgia. Nicole Joseph has been named associate dean for equity, diversity, and inclusion for Peabody College at Vanderbilt University and Chemen Neal is the chief diversity officer for the Indiana University School of Medicine.

In a response to an edict from Gobernor ROn DeSantis, the 12 state-operated universities in Florida have reported that $34.5 million in their combined budgets are related to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Nearly $21 million of this total is from state funds with the remainder coming from the federal government, nonprofits, or private sources.

The 118th Congress is the most diverse in American history. But, a new report from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies finds that despite greater diversity of the members of the House and Senate, this diversity is not reflected in high-level staff positions. Of the top staff hired by new members so far, 4.4 percent are Black.

Ron DeSantis, the newly re-elected governor of Florida, has notified all state-operated universities in Florida that they are required to “provide a comprehensive list of all staff, programs, and campus activities related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and critical race theory,” as well as an accounting of all state funds used to fund such efforts.

Dartmouth's STEM-X program will focus on student diversity in STEM programs, faculty recruitment, and research and scholarship. The program will include an undergraduate scholarship program with the goal of enhancing STEM participation by students from underrepresented groups. 

In 2022, there were 9,630 African Americans enrolled at U.S. medical schools. They made up 10 percent of total enrollments. In 2015, Blacks were 7.2 percent of total enrollments. Since 2015, the number of Blacks enrolled in U.S. medical schools is up by nearly 54 percent.

Taking on new diversity roles are Jay Pearson at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, Dan’Talisha Deans for the Division of Philanthropic and Alumni Engagement at the University of Pittsburgh, and Gina Dent for the Humanities Division at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Randi Congleton was appointed chief diversity and inclusion officer at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio, and David E. Jones is the new chief diversity officer at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark.