Dear AU Community,

Inclusive excellence is a core value of our community and a pillar of our Changemakers strategy. We have made important progress over the past five years through the Plan for Inclusive Excellence, with impactful contributions from teams in the Office of Campus Life, the Provost’s Office and the academic units, Human Resources, the Office of Equity and Title IX, the President’s Council on Diversity and Inclusion, our affinity groups, and many other parts of the community. We have more to do as we move forward, and today I want to update you on the next phase of this critical work, including the vision for our new vice president of inclusive excellence, additional areas of focus within our inclusivity work, and the search for the new vice president.  

The vice president of inclusive excellence will lead strategic diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts for our community, enhance alignment of key work and services that advance our goals and support our people, and continue fostering campus-wide engagement and learning. Our updated approach reflects the evolving nature of diversity and inclusivity work in higher education and beyond and incorporates growth and changes in our community. Working with Amanda Taylor, our assistant vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion who will collaborate closely with the new vice president, the new vice president of inclusive excellence’s portfolio will incorporate two additional areas–the Office of Equity and Title IX and campus-wide accessibility. 

The Office of Equity and Title IX is an important element of our inclusive excellence work. We are building on the office’s efforts over the last two years to enhance our approach and community support mechanisms, and we are learning about ways to continue to improve through feedback from the community, including from the Community Working Group on Preventing and Responding to Sexual Harassment and Violence. The new vice president of inclusive excellence will oversee the Office of Equity and Title IX as part of our comprehensive support for the community on matters related to discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct and help coordinate the relevant offices, services, and resources.  

Additionally, we will leverage the insights from the workgroup led by Jessica Waters, dean of undergraduate education, and Amanda Taylor, assistant vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion that recently assessed campus services and functions that support our AU disability communities. The new vice president will help us advance campus-wide accessibility matters and disability-related services within our approach to inclusive excellence. Disability accommodations for students will remain with the Academic Support and Access Center (ASAC), reporting to the dean of undergraduate education. 

To recruit our new vice president of inclusive excellence, the search committee will be led by Roger Fairfax, dean of our Washington College of Law. Dean Fairfax has been a leader in diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts throughout higher education and the legal profession. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights. The other search committee members who reflect a range of roles and perspectives on the campus-wide reach of this role include: 

• Lillian Baeza-Mendoza, Faculty Senate Chair 

• Patricia Caballero, AU Alumni Board Vice President of Operations  

• Raychelle Burks, Associate Professor, CAS 

• Traevena Byrd, Vice President, General Counsel, and Board Secretary 

• Jee Davis, University Librarian 

• Jehane Djedjro, Student Trustee 

• Priya Doshi, Senior Professorial Lecturer, SOC  

• Seth Grossman, Vice President of People and External Affairs 

• Brian McGowan, Professor, SOE and Associate Director, CTRL 

• Binny Miller, Professor, WCL  

• Jennifer Tether, Staff Council Chair 

I want to thank Dean Fairfax and the committee members for their commitment to this critical effort. 

The search will be supported by Isaacson Miller, a recruitment firm with extensive experience and a mission dedicated to strengthening and diversifying leadership in the civic sector. The search committee and Isaacson Miller will collaborate on identifying the qualities and characteristics AU should be looking for in candidates for this position and developing a position description that incorporates input from the community obtained in part through a series of listening sessions in upcoming weeks. Representatives from a range of stakeholders will participate in on-campus interviews with finalists. 

I want to thank our teams who are supporting this evolution and the vital ongoing work, and all the community members providing input into the search process. We will provide additional updates as the search moves forward. 

Sincerely, 

Sylvia