The University of Nebraska–Lincoln has selected four finalists in its search for a vice chancellor of diversity and inclusion. The candidates will visit campus and participate in public presentations between Oct. 8-19.
The candidates, selected through a national search, will participate in multiple-day interviews, including public presentations and receptions. Each public presentation is at 3:30 p.m. in the Willa Cather Dining Complex.
The finalists, listed by public presentation date, are:
Oct. 8 —Eloísa Gordon-Mora, dean, School of Social Science and Humanities, and associate professor, Universidad del Este in Carolina, Puerto Rico. Her presentation is in the Willa Cather Dining Complex, Red Cloud B/C.
Oct. 9 — Marco Barker, associate vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion, and chief diversity officer, Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah. His presentation is in the Willa Cather Dining Complex, Red Cloud A.
Oct. 11 — Dwight Hamilton, associate vice president for diversity and inclusion, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in Chicago. His presentation is in the Willa Cather Dining Complex, Red Cloud A.
Oct. 18 — Lisa Jones, associate provost for strategy, special assistant to the president and professor of educational leadership and higher education, University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. Her presentation is in the Willa Cather Dining Complex, Pioneers Suite.
Additional candidate information, including complete bios, is available on the vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion search website. Short biographies are below.
As the campus diversity officer, the vice chancellor of diversity and inclusion provides intellectual, strategic and visionary leadership for the university’s goals surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion. The vice chancellor collaboratively leads and develops initiatives to position diversity and inclusion as one of Nebraska’s key competitive advantages, to center such work in the mission of the university, and to capitalize on the varied ways diversity, equity, and inclusion can be embedded in the university’s curriculum, infrastructure, policies, and programs in support of a welcoming campus.
The vice chancellor reports to the executive vice chancellor/chief academic officer and serves on the chancellor’s cabinet, reporting progress on annual metrics on diversity and inclusion to the chancellor.
Eloísa Gordon-Mora
Interview dates: Oct. 8-9
Public presentation: 3:30 p.m., Oct. 8, Cather Dining Complex, Red Cloud B/C
For the past decade, Gordon-Mora has been dean of the School of Social Science and Humanities, Universidad del Este in Carolina, Puerto Rico. In the role, she provides leadership for the administrative and academic development of the school’s undergraduate and first-ever graduate programs within the university system. Prior to this, her work was in the non-profit sector in New York. As vice president of government affairs, she designed and executed the advocacy agenda for Safe Horizon, the state’s largest victim non-profit. She was also the executive director of the Daphne Foundation, which supports community-based organizations in neighborhoods impacted by poverty, violence and discrimination, and executive director of El Barrio Popular Education Program, an adult education program for low-income Latinas. Gordon-Mora is an associate professor in the School of Social Science and Humanities and her active research interests include democratic theory, higher education, diversity and inclusion, social violence and marginality, post-colonial/post-structuralist analysis and Gramscian theory. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Rockhurst University, and a Master of Arts in international relations from the University of Notre Dame. Her doctorate in political science is also from Notre Dame.
Marco Barker
Interview dates: Oct. 9-10
Public presentation: 3:30 p.m., Oct. 9, Cather Dining Complex, Red Cloud A
Barker currently serves as the inaugural associate vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion at Westminster College. He provides leadership for campus initiatives focused on strengthening diversity and inclusion programming and capacity for change, coordinating inclusive excellence efforts, building community relations with affinity groups and agencies, and leading diversity strategic planning. Prior to Westminster, Barker served as senior director for education, operations and initiatives for diversity and multicultural affairs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He oversaw the unit’s administrative operations, professional development, communications, fundraising and strategic planning. He also provided leadership for Carolina Millennial Scholars for minority male engagement and Carolina Latinx Collaborative programs. His research, publications and presentations address cross-race mentoring and advising relationships, doctoral education, diversity and leadership in higher education and often utilizes critical race theory and double consciousness as frameworks. Barker holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering from the University of Arkansas and a Master of Business Administration from Webster University. His doctorate in educational leadership and research is from Louisiana State University.
Dwight Hamilton
Interview dates: Oct. 11-12
Public presentation: 3:30 p.m., Oct. 11, Cather Dining Complex, Red Cloud A
Hamilton is associate vice president for inclusion and diversity at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science where he develops, implements and evaluates initiatives, programs and services in inclusion and diversity. Prior to that, he was at Northwestern University as associate vice president for equity, where he combined the university’s office of sexual harassment prevention and office of equal opportunity and access into the office of equity, which addressed all forms of discrimination, harassment and sexual misconduct. As vice president of inclusion, diversity and equity at Smith College, Hamilton conducted a campus climate survey, co-chaired a mental health task force and implemented a student program to encourage respectful conversation on controversial issues. During his time as associate vice president of affirmative action and Title IX officer at Grand Valley State University, he increased the diversity of applicant pools and the hiring rates for faculty and staff of underrepresented populations. He also taught human resources policies and procedures to graduate and undergraduate students of Grand Valley State’s School of Public, Nonprofit and Health Administration. Hamilton holds a Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice from Michigan State University and earned his Juris Doctor from Wayne State University Law School in Detroit. Prior to serving in higher education, Hamilton practiced law with a focus on commercial and employment litigation.
Lisa Jones
Interview dates: Oct. 18-19
Public presentation: 3:30 p.m., Oct. 18, Cather Dining Complex, Pioneers Suite
Jones serves as associate provost for strategy and special assistant to the president at University of Central Florida. She works closely with senior leadership, faculty, staff and students to facilitate the institutionalization and execution of the university’s collective impact strategic plan. The Society for College and University Planning has recognized her work as raising the bar in integrated strategic planning and implementation. She was also associate director of academic programs and assistant dean for diversity in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University, where she led the development and execution of the college’s first strategic plan for diversity. Under her leadership, the university increased faculty and postdoctoral scholar diversity and implemented innovative programs that increased minority graduate and undergraduate student populations. She is a professor of educational leadership and higher education and is a national thought leader on issues of diversity and inclusion, specifically around comprehensive approaches to creating institutional change to enhance diversity and inclusion. Jones holds a Bachelor of Arts in business management, a Bachelor of Arts in business communication, a Master of Public Administration, and a Doctor of Education in adult and higher education administration, all from North Carolina State University.
