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IU names three associate vice provosts in Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion

For Immediate Release Sep 21, 2017

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana University Bloomington has named faculty members Dionne Danns, Stephanie Li and Mary Murphy to newly created associate vice provost positions in the Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion.

“We have made steady progress on the recruitment and retention of underrepresented faculty, staff and students at IU,” said IU Bloomington Provost and Executive Vice President Lauren Robel. “These wonderful faculty members bring expertise to the office that will allow us to continue and accelerate that progress, and to address ongoing issues of climate.”

Danns, the chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and an associate professor in the School of Education, is the associate vice provost for institutional diversity. Li, the Susan Gubar Chair in Literature and a professor of English in the College of Arts and Sciences, is the associate vice provost for faculty development and diversity. Murphy, an associate professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences in the College of Arts of Sciences, is the associate vice provost for student diversity and inclusion.

“Bringing Dionne, Stephanie and Mary into these roles is extremely significant to IU Bloomington’s continued progress as a campus where people of all backgrounds can thrive,” said James Wimbush, IU vice president for diversity, equity and multicultural affairs; dean of the University Graduate School; and Johnson Professor for Diversity and Leadership. “Along with John Nieto-Phillips, they will help augment the campus experience for IU Bloomington students, faculty and staff by implementing meaningful initiatives.”

Nieto-Phillips, IU Bloomington’s vice provost for diversity and inclusion; associate vice president for the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs; and IU Bloomington chief diversity officer, will work with Danns, Li and Murphy on diversity initiatives affecting students, faculty and the campus at large.

“We’re fortunate to have faculty such as these three individuals, who are not only committed to the larger value of diversity on the IU Bloomington campus but also bring their own special knowledge and experience to bear on the issue of diversity by way of their scholarship and the type of work that they do,” Nieto-Phillips said. “We all have some sort of expertise on the subject of diversity from an academic standpoint, but I think we all also share a commitment to trying to grow diversity, equity and inclusion on the IU Bloomington campus.”

Danns, who has a background as a historian of African-American education, will work on initiatives such as strategic hiring efforts, working with IU Bloomington’s deans on their diversity plans and establishing diversity councils in the campus’s schools.

A scholar of African-American literature, Li will focus on faculty recruitment and retention, including coordinating hiring and retention efforts with department chairs and committees, assisting with faculty hiring workshops, and doing outreach to faculty hiring committees and deans.

Murphy, whose research has focused on first-generation and underrepresented minority students, will provide resources for recruiting and retaining those populations, working closely with Nieto-Phillips and IU’s Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs’ academic support programs.

“In this office, what I aspire to do is think through what we might strategize for cluster hires and for a postdoc system that will enhance diversity throughout the campus. We want to be thoughtful about how to bring diverse scholars to IU in order to share their perspectives about issues of importance in today’s world. We also want to enrich students’ academic experience at IU Bloomington and prepare them for their careers,” said Nieto-Phillips, who has a background as a historian of Latino education, language, citizenship and race.

“A major component of that is diverse students seeing themselves mirrored in the faculty, and the faculty seeing themselves mirrored in the students,” he said. “It’s imperative that we reflect the diversity of the larger society because our students are going to be working throughout the country – and the world – after leaving our campus. Therefore, we need to bring diverse ideas, perspectives and knowledge to the learning environment here.”

Media Contact

Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President

Jennifer Piurek

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