Ohio University President Duane Nellis announced the final candidates in the search for the university’s first vice president for diversity and inclusion Monday afternoon.
During his October inauguration, Nellis announced that the position of chief diversity officer would be upgraded to a vice presidency as part of a plan to make OU a national leader in diversity.
Vice President for Student Affairs Jason Pina, who co-chairs the search committee, currently holds the title of interim chief diversity officer pending the appointment of the new vice president.
Here are the three candidates for the position:
Carmen Suarez
Suarez serves as a special assistant to the president of diversity, equity and inclusion at Portland State University in Oregon.
Before joining Portland State in 2015, Suarez spent three years as chief diversity officer and associate vice provost for student affairs at the University of Idaho, where she previously served as the director for human rights, access and inclusion.
Earlier in her career, Suarez was a grade school Spanish instructor, served as the director of the Office of Hispanic Educational Development at the Illinois Institute of Technology and spent several years working with migrant workers.
She holds three diplomas from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, including a doctor of philosophy degree.
Suarez will participate in a public forum at 1 p.m. April 25 at the Multicultural Center.
Kathleen Roberts
Since 2014, Roberts has served as the senior adviser to the president for inclusive excellence at Northern Kentucky University.
Roberts, who is also NKU’s Title IX coordinator, specializes in Equal Employment Opportunity and Title IX regulations and policies, according to her CV. Prior to joining NKU, Roberts served as a Title IX consultant for Saint Mary’s College of California for two years.
From 2011 to 2013, she was chief diversity officer at Samuel Merritt University in Oakland, California.
Roberts served in various capacities under the Maine Department of Attorney General, including two years managing a team of drug prosecutors while supervising attorneys responsible for investigating hate crimes in the state.
Roberts holds a doctorate degree in “Leadership and Change” from Antioch University in Yellow Springs, Ohio, as well as a law degree from the University of Maine School of Law.
She will participate in a public forum at 1 p.m. April 26 at the Multicultural Center.
Gigi Secuban
Secuban serves as the associate vice chancellor for student affairs and director of the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Relations at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
She was previously the university’s interim director of the Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center.
From 2003 to 2007, Secuban was the director of the multicultural center at the University of Arkansas, where she later served as senior associate director of the university’s freshman engineering program. During her time with the multicultural center, Secuban created an award-winning cultural immersion program, according to her CV.
Secuban holds three degrees from the University of Arkansas, including an Ed.D. in Higher Education.
She will participate in a public forum at 1 p.m. April 27 at the Multicultural Center.
