October 6, 2022 · 2 min read

Foster, Abrica take on new diversity, inclusion roles

Photos of Nebraska's Charlie Foster and Elvira Abrica. Both have recently accepted new roles within the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

Nebraska's Charlie Foster and Elvira Abrica have recently accepted new roles within the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion recently announced key personnel changes.

Effective Oct. 1, Charlie Foster has moved into a newly created role as special assistant to the vice chancellor.

In the new position, Foster will assist in elevating and building key Office of Diversity and Inclusion efforts, programs and initiatives. The work will better position the office to address key goals in the strategic plan, N2025 and commitments to actions towards racial equity.

On Aug. 1, Elvira Abrica was named an inaugural Office of Diversity and Inclusion Research Fellow for the 2022-23 academic year.

As a research fellow, Abrica will work alongside members of the ODI leadership team to research, assess and develop data collection approaches and frameworks that strengthen assessment of diversity-related metrics on campus. Abrica hopes to help connect, integrate, and strengthen critical data practices to support student equity goals at UNL.

Abrica is an associate professor of higher education and Ph.D. program coordinator in the Department of Educational Administration in the College of Education and Human Sciences. Abrica conducts research focused on increasing access to higher education for historically underrepresented groups across post-secondary institutional contexts.

Drawing on a range of interdisciplinary lenses and critical theories, her work focuses on contexts of two-year community colleges; science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields; and institutional research and assessment. Her work is funded by the Center for the Study of Community College, National Science Foundation, and the University of Nebraska Research Council. It has appeared in Race, Ethnicity, and Education; Community College Journal of Research and Practice; Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis; The Review of Higher Education; Association of Mexican American Educators Journal; and The Urban Review.

Abrica has worked professionally in institutional research and assessment at both two-year community colleges and four-year universities. Abrica received a Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts and doctorate from the University of California, Los Angeles.