Four Women Who Have Been Named to Diversity Positions in Higher Education

Harris Akinloye was appointed assistant vice president for community belonging at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. She is currently a senior consultant for diversity, equity, and inclusion at Social Good Solutions, a consulting firm in Chatsworth, California, that works with philanthropic institutions, nonprofit organizations, public agencies, and institutions of higher education. She is the former chief diversity officer at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California.

Dr. Akinloye holds a bachelor’s degree in speech communication and religious studies and a master’s degree in education from Pepperdine University. She earned a Ph.D. in education with a focus on cultural perspectives from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Keesha Burke-Henderson was appointed chief diversity officer and director of the Office of Identity, Culture and Inclusion at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Virginia. Most recently, Burke-Henderson served as the director of diversity and international students for Mount Mercy University in Iowa.

Burke Henderson holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the New York Institute of Technology. She is pursuing a Ph.D. from Kennesaw State University in Georgia.

Mary J. Wardell-Ghirarduzzi was named the inaugural vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. She has been serving as the chief diversity executive at the University of San Francisco.

Dt. Wardell-Ghirarduzzi is a graduate of Pacific University. She earned a master’s degree in intercultural counseling and social justice education from San Diego State University and a doctorate in organizational leadership from Pepperdine University.

Constance Porter, assistant clinical professor of marketing in the Graduate School of Business at Rice University in Houston, has been named senior associate dean in the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the business school. Dr. Porter joined the Rice University faculty in 2011 and teaches marketing, marketing research, and customer relationship management.

Dr. Porter earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She holds an MBA from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in marketing from Georgia State University.