Submitted on behalf of Vincent Wei-cheng Wang, Dean, School of Humanities and Sciences -
I am pleased to announce that Donathan Brown, Associate Professor in Communication Studies, has been appointed the School of Humanities and Sciences’ inaugural Director of Faculty Diversity and Development, for a three-year term effective Fall 2017. He has accepted the position.
A prolific and renowned scholar on race and public policy and an expert in diversity policy in education, Dr. Brown served as Chair of the Ithaca College Dissertation Diversity Program, 2014-17, has served as the Program Coordinator of the Culture and Communication major since 2015, previously held the editorship of Journal of Race and Policy, and has served on the National Advisory Board: Research Consortium on Race, Diversity, and Policy since 2014. He was also a Fulbright Scholar to Slovenia in Spring 2017. Under his leadership, the Dissertation Diversity Program experienced growth and success, importantly contributing to the College’s initiatives to diversify its faculty and promote inclusivity. Built upon its initial success as a H&S program, the Predoc program now expands and infuses to the other pre-professional schools.
The creation of the Director of Faculty Diversity and Development (FDD) within the School of H&S is to strengthen support for and commitment to faculty diversity and development. This initiative addresses a well-recognized need and seeks to bring about consequential changes.
The FDD will serve as an important advisor to the Dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences on matters pertaining to faculty development and will occupy a leadership role in the School’s strategic initiative on inclusive excellence among all faculty. The FDD will be responsible for the recruitment and mentoring development of H&S Pre-doctoral and Post-doctoral Fellows, assist the Associate Dean for Faculty and New Initiatives on the School’s Early Career Faculty Mentoring program, develop a plan for infusing diversity and inclusion into teaching and research, and advise best practices for providing cultural competency training for faculty, review and monitor departments’ diversity and inclusion initiatives so far, and provide advice to the Dean and the departments, participate in the School conversations about the problem of bias affecting the validity of student statements used for faculty evaluation, and otherwise serve as a resource and ally for faculty.
Given Dr. Brown’s expertise, leadership experience, and talents, we are very excited that he will play a key role in this School initiative. We also would like to thank all the support and goodwill shown by the faculty in response to the call.
