Three Women Who Have Been Appointed to Diversity Posts in Higher Education

Courtney Howard has been named the chief diversity officer at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Most recently, she was the associate dean of the college’s School of Education. Earlier, Dr. Howard was the interim dean for the School of Education, Health, and Human Performance for a year. She came to the college in 2011 to lead the School of Education’s Center for Partnerships to Improve Education.

Dr. Howard is a graduate of Florida A&M University, where she majored in biology. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction in science education from the University of Florida.

Dana Murray Patterson is the new chief diversity officer at Wingate University in North Carolina. She most recently served as the director of intercultural affairs at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina.

Dr. Patterson is a graduate of Berea College in Kentucky. She earned a master’s degree in higher education administration from Eastern Kentucky University and a Ph.D. in educational leadership and administration from Washington State University.

Keisha Booker was named assistant director for the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania. She had been serving as the assistant director of multicultural development. She joined the staff at the university in 2017.

A native of Erie, Pennsylvania, Booker received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Thiel College in 2010, and a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from Slippery Rock University in 2016.