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

Zulema Valdez has been selected to serve as associate vice chancellor for equity, justice, and inclusive excellence at the University of California, Merced. A professor of sociology at the university, her research focuses on social inequality in realms such as education, labor markets, and neighborhoods in the United States, with an emphasis on undocumented students, minoritized entrepreneurship, and health disparities.

Professor Valdez hold bachelor’s and master’s degrees and a Ph.D., all in sociology and all from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Stephanie Akunvabey has been named associate vice president for diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer at Pace University in New York. Most recently, she served in a similar role at Roger Williams University campuses in Bristol and Providence, Rhode Island. Earlier, she served as interim assistant dean of academic affairs at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn.

Dr. Akunvabey earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology/anthropology and Africana studies at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia. She holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in higher and postsecondary education from New York University.

Lois V. Greene is the new senior vice president of wellness, diversity, equity, and inclusion at University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, an academic medical center operated by Rutgers University. She has taught courses at Ramapo College and Rutgers University.

Dr. Greene is a graduate of Rutgers University-Newark, where she majored in nursing. She holds a doctorate in healthcare administration from the Medical College of South Carolina.