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Syracuse University announced that it has named Mary Grace A. Almandrez as the new vice president for diversity and inclusion in an SU news release Tuesday.

In this position, Almandrez will lead the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and oversee the administration of services, programs, policies and procedures for SU in relation to the university’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.

The release also said that Almandrez will be in charge of implementing the university’s DEIA Strategic Plan and act as a liaison with undergraduate and graduate student leadership and three other groups.

“Mary Grace’s depth and breadth of professional and academic experience make her uniquely qualified for this position,” Chancellor Kent Syverud said in the release. “She has demonstrated visionary leadership, creativity and resilience throughout her career in working through some of the most challenging issues.”

Almandrez previously served as the associate vice president for community, equity and diversity and chief diversity officer at the University of Rhode Island since March 2020. She held a number of positions over seven years at Brown University and was the assistant dean of students for multicultural student services at the University of San Francisco.

A search committee, co-chaired by Cerri Banks, the vice president and deputy to the senior vice president in the Division of the Student Experience, and Brian Konkol, the dean of Hendricks Chapel, was appointed in October 2021 to find the next chief diversity and inclusion officer. The search firm of WittKieffer also assisted the committee with recruitment and selection of a new candidate.

“We were seeking a leader with a proven track record of bringing about positive change in challenging the status quo,” Banks said in Tuesday’s release.

Almandrez is a member of several professional associations, such as the Diversity and Inclusion Professionals, Filipino Americans in Academe-Northeast, the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources and the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education.

“Syracuse University is well-poised to be an exemplar of integrating scholarship and practical application in campuswide diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility initiatives,” Almandrez said.

Published on March 22, 2022 at 10:13 pm

Contact Anthony: aalandt@syr.edu | @anthonyalandt