Campus Community Invited to Forum With Diversity and Inclusion Vice President Mary Grace A. Almandrez Oct. 4
Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Mary Grace A. Almandrez will host a campus forum to share updates on campus diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) efforts. The event will be held Tuesday, Oct. 4, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Goldstein Auditorium in the Schine Student Center.

All members of the campus community—students, faculty and staff—are encouraged to attend. Those planning to attend are asked to register for the event. Lunch will be served at 11:30. The forum begins at noon in person and via Zoom.
Almandrez will provide updates from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. She will be joined by Shiu-Kai Chin, professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, for a historical perspective of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) Strategic Plan, and Marcelle Haddix, associate provost for strategic initiatives, who advances specific initiatives in diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility through her work in Academic Affairs.
Almandrez, who began in her role this summer, will share information on her office’s strategic priorities and goals and the work being done as part of the Academic Strategic Plan in the area of DEIA. Almandrez and Haddix are co-chairs of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility working group as part of the academic strategic planning process.
Chin co-chaired the DEIA strategic planning task force with Diane Lynden Murphy, dean of the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, which was charged with creating and guiding the development of the plan. Chin and Murphy, along with the late Cerri A. Banks, former vice president for student success and deputy to the senior vice president of student experience, were part of the interim leadership team that was charged with engaging the community with the strategic plan draft before Almandrez’ arrival.
American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) will be provided.