President Gormley Announces Chief Diversity Officer Search

President Ken Gormley recently shared the following message with campus.

Dear members of the Duquesne University community,

President Ken Gormley

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, Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences
  • Sherene Brantley, Associate Athletic Director & 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
  • The Rev. Bill Christy, C.S.Sp., Director of Spiritan 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.