UNC Charlotte Hires First Chief Diversity Officer To Oversee Equity and Inclusion Efforts

The College of North Carolina at Charlotte has appointed Brandon L. Wolfe, Ph.D., as associate vice chancellor for variety and inclusion and chief variety officer, effective Nov. 1. In his function, Wolfe will provide on the Chancellor’s Cabinet and will oversee the University’s diversity, fairness and inclusion attempts, a sizeable pillar in Chancellor Sharon L. Gaber’s eyesight for the expanding campus.

“To be a chief in our area, Charlotte must also be a chief in variety, equity and inclusion. Brandon is a distinguished and passionate leader and scholar whose demonstrated know-how and cogent awareness of DEI techniques will enable him to lead the critical get the job done of sustaining a weather of transparency, inclusive excellence and equity across all dimensions of our College,” explained Gaber, who made the Office of Range and Inclusion shortly after her arrival in 2020. “His role will be pivotal as we launch our new strategic plan, “Shaping What’s Subsequent,” and our related variety and inclusion approach.”

Wolfe joins Charlotte’s staff with a breadth of encounter in range in increased education and learning, most not long ago serving as the assistant vice president of campus and community engagement in the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s (UAB) Business office of the Vice President for Diversity, Fairness and Inclusion. In his posture, Wolfe was tasked with producing a divisional unit to leverage the university’s mission and determination to range, fairness and inclusion as a resource to foster larger academic discourse and group engagement.

At Charlotte, Wolfe will coordinate with staff members, college and college students to create on the University’s variety and inclusion initiatives to generate an accessible, inclusive and equitable local weather, as very well as identify and tackle possible limitations and institutional units that may perhaps foster systemic inequalities. He will report straight to Gaber and function intently with leaders to develop and align strategic aims throughout the College.

“What I really like about UNC Charlotte is that this get the job done is previously happening in the course of campus,” reported Wolfe. “There is a large amount of remarkable vitality throughout the University. There is also a demonstrated commitment from management to use our range to leverage fairness and inclusion to condition approaches and tactics that prioritize and pursue institutional excellence in methods that are the two transformational and sustainable. Together, I feel we can seize the chance not only to carry out exceptional DEI operate, but also to evolve in these a way to position us as a countrywide and intercontinental leader.”

Wolfe holds a doctorate in administration of higher schooling, a master’s in adult instruction and a bachelor’s in psychology from Auburn College. He has added postgraduate instruction ordeals in many management programs, which include the Younger American Leaders Program at the Harvard Small business Faculty. In addition to his leadership knowledge, Wolfe conducts investigation on matters associated to range, fairness and inclusion in greater education. His present-day analysis is centered on improved conceptualizing the connection between organizational tradition and ability dynamics upon minoritized groups.

Prior to serving in his role at UAB, Wolfe held better training management positions at the College of Alabama College of Drugs, the North Alabama Center for Academic Excellence, Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College and Auburn University.

Now, UNC Charlotte enrolls and graduates one particular of the most numerous college student bodies in the UNC System. The percentage of Charlotte’s undergraduate college students who determine as an underrepresented minority rose to 36% in the most current enrollment time period. Enrollment among Black/African American freshmen (18%) and Hispanic new undergraduates (12%) has amplified given that past calendar year. Over 50 % of the University’s pupil inhabitants (52%) identify as female.

Wolfe succeeds Cheryl Waites Spellman, Ph.D., who has served as the interim exclusive assistant to the chancellor for diversity and inclusion because Sept. 16, 2020.

For extra info on diversity at UNC Charlotte, visit diversity.charlotte.edu.

Feedback

remarks