Three Women Appointed to Diversity Positions in Higher Education

Adrienne Morgan has been named vice president for equity and inclusion and Richard Feldman Chief Diversity Officer at the University of Rochester in New York. Dr. Morgan has been serving as interim vice president and chief diversity officer since August 2022. She will also continue to serve as senior associate dean for equity and inclusion for the School of Medicine and Dentistry at the university. Dr. Morgan is an associate professor in the department of health humanities and bioethics at the Medical Center and an associate professor at the university’s Warner School of Education.

Professor Morgan received a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She holds a master’s degree in cross-disciplinary professional studies from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Rochester.

Barbara J. Lawrence has been named vice president for diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and belonging at the University of New Haven in Connecticut. Since 2021, she has been serving as the inaugural vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion and chief diversity officer at Rider University in New Jersey. Earlier, Lawrence served as vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina.

A former New York City police officer, Lawrence is a graduate of John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. She holds a master of public administration degree from Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis and a juris doctorate from Indiana University.

Monica Smith was appointed associate vice president for equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging for the University of Wisconsin System. She was the vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. Earlier, she was director of diversity and inclusion at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania.

Dr. Smith holds a master of social work degree and a doctorate in clinical social work from the University of Pennsylvania.