Alfreda Brown, Kent State University’s
vice president for diversity, equity and
inclusion, has been elected to serve a
three-year term on the board of directors
of the National Association of Diversity
Officers in Higher Education.

The National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE) has elected Alfreda Brown, Kent State University’s vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion, to serve a three-year term on its board of directors beginning March 17.

NADOHE serves as a leading organization for diversity officers in higher education. Its vision is to lead higher education toward inclusive excellence through institutional transformation. NAHODE currently has 198 institutional members and 201 individual members.

“It is an honor to join the ranks of esteemed diversity professionals whose aim is to be transformational leaders of diversity and inclusion in higher education across the nation,” Brown says.

Candidates are selected based on several qualifications. Candidates must be a member of a national organization and NADOHE. NADOHE members nominate a candidate, and then the candidate must write a statement about their own personal goals for higher education. From the pool of applicants, the candidates are then voted on in a national election. It is a very competitive selection process, and the candidates must be respected nationally for their work and the work of their institution, according to NADOHE.

“It is my hope that I can contribute toward areas of growth and development across the many aspects of diversity, broadening our reach and impacting our individual universities while collectively and uniformly impacting the world,” Brown says.

Brown’s election for NADOHE stems from her various diversity initiatives at Kent State, including writing and launching the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Plan, implementing the Diversity Scoreboard process and spearheading the AALANA (African-American, Latino-American and Native American) faculty recruitment, retention, mentoring and success plan.

Kent State’s Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion oversees the universities diversity and inclusion initiatives. Its goal is to promote the Kent State mission by implementing programs, processes and policy recommendations that promote a sustainable, inclusive, nondiscriminatory, welcoming and highly productive workplace and learning environment.

Three other candidates were selected to serve a three-year term: David Camacho, special assistant to the president and associate vice president for inclusion and equity at Northern Arizona University; Taffye Benson Clayton, associate vice chancellor and chief diversity officer at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Juan Muñoz, senior vice president for institutional diversity, equity and community engagement and vice provost for undergraduate education and student affairs at Texas Tech University. Also appointed to serve two at-large board of directors positions were Jewell Winn, chief diversity officer at Tennessee State University, and Clyde Wilson Pickett, special assistant to the president for diversity and inclusion at the Community College of Allegheny County.

Brown and the other new board of directors members will take the oath of office during NADOHE’s Annual Membership Meeting in Washington, D.C., on March 17.

For more information about NADOHE, visit www.nadohe.org.

For more information about Kent State’s Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, visit www.kent.edu/diversity.