Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

Chancellor Syverud Appoints Members of Search Committee for Chief Diversity Officer

Friday, November 30, 2018, By Kathleen Haley
Share
Diversity and Inclusion

Chancellor Kent Syverud today announced the members of a search committee for a chief diversity officer (CDO). The creation of a CDO position was one of the recommendations of the Chancellor’s Workgroup on Diversity and Inclusion to strengthen the University’s diversity initiatives.

“With this next step, we are moving further toward fulfilling the recommendations of the Workgroup on Diversity and Inclusion. This new position will help us continue to focus on and broaden our initiatives to create a more welcoming and diverse community,” Syverud says. “The chief diversity officer will help guide us there and bring us together in our shared work across campus.”

The chief diversity officer, who will report directly to the Chancellor, will serve on the Chancellor’s Executive Team and provide executive leadership, oversight and vision in the administration of services, programs, policies and procedures related to advancing Syracuse University’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.

In June, Chancellor Syverud appointed Professor Keith A. Alford to the post of interim chief diversity officer, effective July 1. Alford is an associate professor and chair of the Falk College’s School of Social Work.

In its work to find a permanent CDO, the 12-member committee will work with the executive search firm Witt/Kieffer.

The committee will be co-chaired by Dolan Evanovich, senior vice president for enrollment and the student experience, and LaVonda Reed, associate provost for faculty affairs and professor of law.

Other search committee members are the following:

  • Peter Blanck, University Professor and chairman, Burton Blatt Institute
  • Yousr Dhaouadi, graduate student representative
  • James Duah-Agyeman, director, Office of Multicultural Affairs
  • Bea González, vice president for community engagement
  • khristian kemp-delisser, director, LGBT Resource Center
  • Yingyi Ma, director of Asian/Asian American Studies and associate professor of sociology, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
  • Suzette Meléndez, teaching professor; director, Children’s Rights and Family Law Clinic; and faculty director of inclusion initiatives, College of Law
  • Michael Tick, dean and professor of drama, College of Visual and Performing Arts
  • Brooke Waldon, undergraduate student representative
  • Barry L. Wells, special assistant to the Chancellor

About Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private, international research university with distinctive academics, diversely unique offerings and an undeniable spirit. Located in the geographic heart of New York state, with a global footprint, and nearly 150 years of history, Syracuse University offers a quintessential college experience. The scope of Syracuse University is a testament to its strengths: a pioneering history dating back to 1870; a choice of more than 200 majors and 100 minors offered through 13 schools and colleges; nearly 15,000 undergraduates and 5,000 graduate students; more than a quarter of a million alumni in 160 countries; and a student population from all 50 U.S. states and 123 countries. For more information, please visit syracuse.edu.

  • Author

Kathleen Haley

  • Recent
  • Doctoral Candidate Wins Grant for Research on Infrastructure, Violence and Resistance in Pakistan
    Friday, August 1, 2025, By News Staff
  • Co-President of Disability Law Society Eyes Career in National Security Law in Washington
    Thursday, July 31, 2025, By Jordan Bruenger
  • Lender Center New York Event Gathers Wealth Gap Experts
    Wednesday, July 30, 2025, By Diane Stirling
  • After Tragedy, Newhouse Grad Rediscovers Her Voice Through Podcasting
    Wednesday, July 30, 2025, By Chris Velardi
  • Back-to-School Shopping: More Expensive and Less Variety of Back-to-School Items
    Tuesday, July 29, 2025, By Daryl Lovell

More In Campus & Community

Doctoral Candidate Wins Grant for Research on Infrastructure, Violence and Resistance in Pakistan

Bramsh Khan, a Ph.D. candidate in social science in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, has been awarded a prestigious Wenner-Gren Foundation Dissertation Fieldwork Grant. The Wenner-Gren Foundation, established in 1941, is dedicated to advancing anthropological knowledge throughout…

Co-President of Disability Law Society Eyes Career in National Security Law in Washington

Kaitlin Sommer L’26 is always planning ahead. Throughout her life, she has continuously asked herself, “Is there a better or more efficient way to do this?”, “Am I advocating for what I need?”, “How can I figure this out by…

National Grid Summer College Scholars Program Invests in Energy Literacy

National Grid and Syracuse University’s Office of Pre-College Programs have partnered to inspire the next generation of innovators through the National Grid Summer College Scholars Program. The program will support selected Syracuse City School District high school students for the…

Bowlers Wanted for Faculty and Staff Bowling League

Do you enjoy bowling? Would you like to try bowling? Are you looking for a fun activity with your colleagues? The Syracuse University and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) Faculty and Staff Bowling League is seeking new…

Lender Center New York Event Gathers Wealth Gap Experts

Nearly 30 Syracuse University faculty and postdoctoral researchers and nationally known thought leaders who study the wealth gap in America explored the issue at a recent event in New York City hosted by the Lender Center for Social Justice. The…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.