Duquesne President Ken Gormley shared the following with University students, faculty
and staff.
Dear members of the Duquesne University community,
As the new academic year is almost upon us, I want to share important news related
to our ongoing work with diversity, equity and inclusion. I'm pleased to announce
that I will be hiring Duquesne University's first Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) and
Senior Advisor to the President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. This is an important
role not only for me, personally, but also for the entire University community. The
creation of this position reflects our collective commitment to bolstering our inclusive
practices, as well as the historic vision of our Spiritan founders to provide a learning
environment where all are welcomed, valued for their rich contributions to the University
community, and given the opportunity to succeed. Our intentional and collaborative
work around diversity, equity and inclusion has given us a solid foundation from which
this new leadership position can serve as a catalyst for continued progress on DEI
initiatives. The CDO and Senior Advisor will serve as a member of my Cabinet and will
report directly to me as a visible and trusted counselor for our entire leadership
team.
The CDO search is not a culmination of our DEI efforts, but rather a key component of the continuum of this important work. This role will advance and complement the progress we've made through the creation of the President's Council on Diversity and Inclusion; the Bias Education Response Team; and the DEI Action Plan, which is underway with the guidance and expertise of Fred Brown and Unity Consultants.
I've appointed a Search Committee, which will conduct a national search to attract highly qualified candidates for the CDO position. The Committee will be led by Bill Generett, Senior Vice President for Civic Engagement and External Relations; Mary Ellen Solomon, Chief of Staff and Associate Vice President; and Gabe Welsch, Vice President for Marketing and Communications, to ensure its strategic alignment with the development of our DEI Action Plan. The search process will begin immediately, and the position description has been posted at https://duq.edu/chiefdiversityofficerposition. Other search committee members are:
April Barton, Dean, School of Law
Dr. Aaron Bloomfield, Assistant Professor, School of Science and Engineering
Sherene Brantley, Associate Athletic Director and Chair, President's Advisory Council on Diversity and Inclusion
Dr. Liliana Castrellon, Assistant Professor and Director of the University Council for Education Administration Center for Educational Leadership and Social Justice, School of Education
Fr. Bill Christy, Director of Campus Ministry and University Chaplain
Pam Connelly, Esq., Senior Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel
Dr. Anthony Kane, Director, Center for Excellence in Diversity and Student Inclusion and Co-chair of Bias Education Response Team
Andrew Logan-Graf, Director of Disability Services
Nicola Henry-Taylor, Esq., Director of Diversity, School of Law
Dr. Jessica Mann, Assistant Vice President of Community Engagement and Co-chair of Bias Education Response Team
Shayaan Meyers, 3rd year Health Sciences student and Director of Orientation 2021
Dr. Darlene Weaver, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs.
I look forward to sharing updates with you as the work of the Search Committee progresses.
In the meantime, best wishes for enjoying the rest of the summer and preparing for
an exciting fall return.
Warm regards,
President Ken Gormley
Duquesne University
Founded in 1878, Duquesne is consistently ranked among the nation's top Catholic universities
for its award-winning faculty and horizon-expanding education. A campus of nearly
8,000 graduate and undergraduate students, Duquesne prepares students by having them
work alongside faculty to discover and reach their goals. The University's academic
programs, community service and commitment to equity and opportunity in the Pittsburgh
region have earned national acclaim.
It's time for bigger goals. Follow Duquesne University on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and LinkedIn.
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