Four Women in Higher Education Who Are Taking on New Roles as Diversity Officers

Rochelle D. Smith has been selected as Saint Louis University’s next vice president for diversity and innovative community engagement. She has been serving as the inaugural associate dean of diversity and inclusion and associate chief diversity officer at the Yale School of Medicine. Before Yale, Smith worked at Washington University in St. Louis for 22 years, most recently as the assistant provost for diversity initiatives.

Smith holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Chicago State University. She earned a master’s degree in health behavior research from the Washington University School of Medicine.

Jane Irungu is the inaugural vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion at Utah State University. She had been serving as the associate provost of inclusive excellence at the University of Oklahoma. Earlier in her career, Dr. Irungu was director of the Center for Multicultural Academic Excellence at the University of Oregon.

Dr. Irungu earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya. She then went on to earn a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. She is the author of Engaging College Students for Success: International Students in U.S Higher Education Institutions (LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing, 2011).

Brianna Williams has been appointed assistant vice president for access and equal opportunity at Norfolk State University in Virginia, effective August 10. She has been serving as an equal opportunity officer at North Carolina State University.

Originally from Florida, Williams received a bachelor’s degree in criminology from the University of South Florida. She earned a juris doctorate from the Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University College of Law.

Alaina Macaulay was named senior director for inclusion and strategic engagement in the Office of Equity and Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She was the director of diversity and inclusion for the Isenberg School of Management at the university.

Macaulay holds a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and a master’s degree in sports management from Western Illinois University.