George Washington University President Steven Knapp has announced the 16 members of the President’s Council on Diversity and Inclusion, a key component of an initiative announced by President Knapp on Feb. 12.
The council will be co-chaired by Gregory Squires, professor of sociology and public policy and public administration, and Helen Cannaday Saulny, assistant vice president for student and academic support services. Council members, drawn from faculty, students and staff across the university, are the following:
- Charles Barber, deputy counsel
- Elizabeth Chacko, chair of the Department of Geography
- Leroy Charles, assistant vice president for government relations and operations at the Medical Center
- Jin Chon, executive director for strategic communications
- Ronna Halbgewachs, assistant vice president for planning and health affairs
- Claritza Jimenez, B.A. ’05, graduate student and membership chair, Latino Alumni Association
- Rodney L. Johnson, executive director of parent services
- Lydia Martinez, executive director of EEO/AA, employee & labor relations in the Office of Human Resources
- James Miller, chair of the Department of American Studies
- Daniel Moshenberg, director of the Women’s Studies Department
- Sally Nuamah, junior and member Global Women’s Initiative Task Force
- Michael Tapscott, director of the Multi Cultural Student Services Center
- Christy Willis, director of Disability Support Services
- Annie Wooldridge, assistant vice president for faculty recruitment and personnel relations
President Knapp also announced that Donald R. Lehman, Ph.D. ’70, executive vice president for academic affairs, has appointed 11 staff and faculty members to a search committee to fill the new position of associate provost for diversity and inclusion, which will work closely with the council and will provide leadership in a variety of areas, including educational and employment equity, access, cultural understanding and competency and human rights. The associate provost for diversity and inclusion will report to Steven Lerman, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, who will assume his office on July 1.
The council will meet over the next several weeks to determine core areas of focus and establish working groups to address them. Its ongoing role will include advising and providing feedback to the associate provost for diversity and inclusion.
“I am impressed by the caliber of those who have joined the new council,” President Knapp said. “They are exactly the right group to advise and support the new associate provost, and I am pleased that the search for that position is now underway.”
The search committee, which will be chaired by Louis Lemieux, chief human resources officer, is comprised of the following members:
- Charles Barber, deputy counsel
- Paul Butler, associate dean for faculty development and Carville Dickinson Benson Research Professor of Law
- Leroy Charles, assistant vice president for government relations and operations at the Medical Center
- Ronna Halbgewachs, assistant vice president for planning and health affairs
- Jennifer James, associate professor of English
- Beth Nolan, senior vice president and general counsel
- Young-Key Kim-Renaud, chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures
- Helen Cannaday Saulny, assistant vice president for student and academic support services
- Gregory Squires, professor of sociology and public policy and public administration
- Annie Wooldridge, assistant vice president for faculty recruitment and personnel relations
These efforts to foster diversity and inclusion build on President Knapp’s work to strengthen the university community. Previous examples include presidential task forces on safety and security, sustainability and innovation.
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