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

Tiffany Baffour is the new associate dean of graduate equity, diversity, and inclusion at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Dr. Baffour has been an associate professor in the master of social work program at the university since 2019. Earlier, she taught at North Carolina A&T State University, the University of North Florida, and Winston-Salem State University.

Dr. Baffour is a graduate of Jersey City University, where she majored in political science. She holds master’s degrees from the University of Delaware and Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania as well as a Ph.D. in social work from Howard University in Washington, D.C.

AJ Mazaris was appointed vice president for equity, diversity, and inclusion at Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Prior to joining Salem College, Mazaris served as assistant vice president for equitable policy in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Wake Forest University. In addition, Dr. Mazaris was the founding director of the LGBTQ+ Center at Wake Forest and served as an assistant teaching professor in the department of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies.

Dr. Mazaris earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, and a master’s degree in museum studies and American studies and a Ph.D. in American studies from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

E. Cheryl Ponder was named interim assistant vice chancellor for advocacy, inclusion, and support programs at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She previously served as the vice president for student affairs at Alcorn State University in Mississippi.

Dr. Ponder holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and history from Dillard University in New Orleans. She earned an MBA at Clark Atlanta University and a Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy studies from the University of Oklahoma.

Malika Carter has been named the inaugural vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion and chief diversity officer at James Madson University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She will take on her new duties on August 25. Dr. Carter has been serving as the chief diversity officer at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse.

Dr. Carter holds a bachelor’s degree in middle childhood education from Cleveland State University in Ohio. She earned a master’s degree in higher education and student affairs administration from the University of Vermont and a Ph.D. in institutional analysis from North Dakota State University.