Three Women Appointed to Diversity Positions in Higher Education

Marsha McGriff has been appointed vice chancellor of equity and inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She most recently served as chief diversity officer and senior advisor to the president at the University of Florida. She previously served as associate vice president of inclusive excellence at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.

Dr. McGriff is a two-time graduate of Tuskegee University in Alabama where she received her bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in education. She received her doctorate in education from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

JeffriAnne Wilder has been selected to serve as the inaugural executive director of the Center for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at Oberlin College and Conservatory in Ohio. Dr. Wilder has an extensive career in higher education diversity programs, recently serving as the founding director of the Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnic Relations at the University of North Florida.

Dr. Wilder completed her undergraduate education at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania. She holds a master’s degree in sociology from Cleveland State University and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Florida.

Eliza Yellow Bird has been appointed director of the University of Arizona Health Sciences Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Dr. Yellow Bird has been with the office since 2016, overseeing the Arizona Health Opportunities Pathways to Excellence program, grant initiatives, and a summer bridge program.

Dr. Yellow Bird is a graduate of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, where she majored in American Indian and Native American studies. She holds a master’s degree in mental health counseling from South Dakota State University and a Ph.D. in educational policy studies and practice from the University of Arizona.