Diversity Officers —
Coming to a Campus Near You?

From diversifying the curriculum to the faculty, these senior-level administrators are taking on unprecedented roles

By Shilpa Banerji

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 once legally bolstered affirmative action officer. 

Buoyed by several factors, including the reality of operating in a laissez faire post-affirmative action environment, college administrators across the country are increasingly seeing the need to establish a new and more senior-level position to head up overall diversity efforts, from improving minority faculty retention to diversifying the curriculum.
“There has been a lot of executive-level hiring going on around the country. Schools are hiring vice provosts, provosts, chancellors — a point leadership position to push their diversity effort,” says Dr. Damon A. Williams, assistant vice provost of multicultural and international affairs and co-director of the Senior Diversity Officers Research Project at the University of Connecticut.

“This trend [of appointing a point person] is compelling, … it is a redefinition of academic excellence,” says Dr. Steve O. Michael, vice provost for diversity and academic initiatives at Kent State University, who convened the first meeting of chief diversity officers at the American Council on Education conference in Phoenix last month. The group plans to have a more unified voice by extending its network, forming a national association and holding future conferences.
 
A New England State of Mind

Depending on the size of the institution, the commitment from the top and the availability of resources, there are generally three kinds of diversity officers: chief diversity officers who report directly to the president or provost; senior diversity officers who report to everybody above the dean; and diversity officers who report to all senior-level administrators, according to Michael. While some may have minimal staffing, others oversee both the institute’s curriculum and policy. “So it’s important for the person to have a faculty background,” he says.