Three Women Who Have Been Appointed to New University Roles Relating to Diversity

Stella Silva will serve as the associate vice president for inclusive excellence at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, effective August 7. She was associate director for student diversity and inclusion at Texas State University. She had served on the staff there for 22 years.

Dr. Silva holds a bachelor of fine arts degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio,

Minnette Ellis has been named the interim chief diversity officer at the University of North Alabama in Florence. Ellis joined the staff at the university in January 2022 as the associate vice president and dean of students. Earlier, she spent 11 years in a variety of roles at Western Kentucky University including associate director for housing and residence life.

Ellis is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, where she majored in psychology. She holds a master’s degree in higher education student affairs from Indiana State University and is completing work on an educational doctorate at Western Kentucky University.

Danushi Fernando is the new chief diversity officer for the College of Environmental Science and Forestry of the State University of New York in Syracuse. For the past five years, she was the director of LGBTQ  and gender resources at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Earlier, she was director of diversity and inclusion services at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York.

Fernando holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature and three master’s degrees from Farleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey.