Today's chief diversity officer could be tomorrow's university president, says Dr. Damon Williams. The author profiles Damon Williams who shines as sought-after expert on issues surrounding higher education inclusion. As head of a diversity division with an eight-figure budget at Wisconsin's flagship state university, Williams oversees four…

When Dr. Kumea Shorter-Gooden took on her newly created job this month at the University of Maryland's flagship College Park campus, she assumed a challenge at the school with a lot riding on her shoulders--helping the University of Maryland strengthen its diversity efforts and, thus, its relevance to the state in the future and standing among the…

Mississippi's three historically Black universities, like other HBCUs around the country, are gradually becoming more diverse, and their administrators say the shift in enrollment is enhancing their mission, not detracting from it. One of them, Alcorn State, is the first and only HBCU in Mississippi to reach a court-mandated goal of having 10…

This article profiles Dr. Lawrence T. Potter, Allegheny College's first chief diversity officer. Dr. Potter comes from a family that is committed to higher education. As a third generation college graduate, he has mixed his education between Stillman, a historically Black college in Tuscaloosa, AL, where he earned bachelor's degrees in English,…

The author reports on the dismissal of a longtime diversity administrator Dr. Cordell Black, combined with a declining minority enrollment and a deflated state budget, which has raised concerns about the University of Maryland's commitment to diversity and resulted to student protests. For years, the university has worked hard to reverse the…

Hispanics and Blacks make up about 15.1 and 12.9 percent of the U.S. population, respectively, and 3.3 and 3.9 percent of the lawyer population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Law School Admission Council. On the other hand, Whites represent about 69.1 percent of the general population and 89.2 percent of the lawyer population. These…

Recently ranked among the 101 most influential minorities in sports by Sports Illustrated magazine, Damon Evans is the first Black athletic director in the history of the Southeastern Conference and one of the youngest athletic directors in the country. He oversees a $65 million budget and a program that includes 21 intercollegiate sports teams,…

Public universities in Virginia, as in many states, have generally not paid much attention to diversity among their suppliers. For years, state expenditures for outside contracts went to the usual suspects--White contractors from well-established companies. Four years ago, former Governor Mark Warner, a progressive Democrat from the high…

There is a new chief in charge at Georgia Perimeter College (GPC), the five-campus, 50,000-student Atlanta-area community college district. Dr. Anthony S. Tricoli, the former president of West Hills College Coalinga, will take over at GPC on Oct. 1, replacing longtime president Jacqueline Belcher, who retired last year. The appointment of Tricoli…

In the long line of equity and access shifts, maneuvers and descriptive title appointments in higher education, yet another has emerged. One of the newest titles, "chief diversity officer," owes its lineage to its more controversial predecessors, including minority affairs officers, equal opportunity officers, access officers and the…