Three African Americans Appointed to Diversity Posts at Colleges and Universities

Altheia Richardson has been named the inaugural chief diversity officer and vice president for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging at Newberry College in South Carolina. She currently is associate vice president for strategic diversity leadership at Clemson University in South Carolina.

Dr. Richardson is a graduate of the University of South Carolina. She holds an MBA and a doctorate in educational leadership from Clemson University.

D’Angelo Taylor has been named vice president for hope, unity, and belonging at Belmont University in Nashville. As part of this work, Dr. Taylor will lead the university’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives. He has been serving as vice president for student affairs at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio. Earlier, Dr. Taylor was the associate director of the Multicultural Center at the University of Southern Indiana.

Dr. Taylor holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from Western Illinois University. He earned a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of New England.

Monae Roberts is the inaugural chief diversity officer for the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis. Roberts previously served as director of the LGBTQIA Resource Center and as a program coordinator at the Cross Cultural Center at the university.

Davis is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Davis holds a master’s degree in health and physical education from East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in African American studies from Temple University in Philadelphia.

Fisk and Belmont Universities in Nashville Form the Social Justice Collaborative

Historically Black Fisk University in Nashville and predominantly White Belmont University in Nashville have announced the establishment of the Belmont-Fisk Social Justice Collaborative, a partnership between the universities designed to promote social justice through exposure to civil rights and social justice movements across Middle Tennessee.

The donor-funded collaborative was created to educate, empower, and inspire students through mutual respect for humanity. Designed as a course that students from both universities will enroll in together, participants will immerse themselves in the state’s civil rights history. Over the course of the semester, enrolled students will visit both campuses, a variety of museums and libraries, and will interview social justice advocates across decades. As part of the experience, students will travel to Black Mountain, North Carolina, for the Ignite Retreat, an immersive experience designed to teach students how to create change in their communities.

“Our commitment to reweaving the social fabric through hope and inclusive excellence begins with a thorough and thoughtful examination of the past, reflecting on areas where imbalance and inequality have persisted,” said Susan West, executive vice president for administration, chief of staff, and chair of Belmont’s Diversity Council. “Only with this acknowledgment can we move forward, remaining accountable as we learn along the way.”

Belmont University enrolls about 7,000 undergraduate students and 1,600 graduate students, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education. African Americans make up 5 percent of the undergraduate student body.