A Trio of Women Who Have Been Appointed to University Diversity Positions

Felicia Benton-Johnson has been named vice president for diversity and inclusive excellence at Clemson University in South Carolina, effective March 1. Most recently, Benton-Johnson served as assistant dean and director of the Center for Engineering Education and Diversity at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Dr. Benton-Johnson received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Tennessee State University. She holds a doctorate in higher education leadership from Argosy University.

Anjali Bindra Patel is now serving as the director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion at the Georgetown University Law Center. Before joining Georgetown Law, Patel was global director of diversity, equity, and inclusion at Winrock International, a nonprofit humanitarian organization.

Patel is a graduate of Kent State University in Ohio, where she majored in business administration. She earned a juris doctorate at Ohio State University.

Sonia Toson was appointed vice president and chief diversity officer at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. She is an associate professor of law and has served as the university’s interim chief diversity officer since August 2021. Prior to being named to the interim position, she served as the director of diversity relations for the Michael J. Coles College of Business.

Professor Toson earned a bachelor’s degree in East Asian languages and culture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She holds an MBA and a juris doctorate from American University in Washington, D.C.