By Jalen Wade
On March 25, the University of Maryland announced Georgina Dodge as their pick for vice president of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Before accepting this position, Dodge was the chief diversity officer and associate provost for diversity, equity and inclusion at Bucknell University.
The university considered applicants for the position from late February through the beginning of March. Possible applicants came from universities such as Michigan, Bucknell and Maryland itself.
The role of vice president is a newly created position at the university. As vice president, Dodge will be a member of President Loh’s cabinet. According to a press release, Dodge will also work closely with the senior vice president and provost, the provost’s council of deans and other senior leaders to cultivate greater diversity and inclusion on campus.
“Following a highly-competitive national search, Georgina was selected based on her 23-year career of successful leadership in diversity, equity, and inclusion at three universities. She is a tireless advocate for human rights, civil liberties, and equal opportunity,” Loh said in a press release.
Dodge has a long history of working to improve diversity. On top of her role at Bucknell University, Dodge was the Title IX coordinator at the University of Iowa and the assistant vice provost of minority affairs at Ohio State University. While at Ohio State, Dodge directed the university’s Bias Assessment and Response Team (BART). She also helped produce the university’s annual diversity report and assisted in the development of metrics for diversity performance evaluations.
“I bring with me years of leadership experience that provide me with many proven ideas, but I want to ensure that our approaches are appropriate for the culture and context of UMD,” Dodge said.
Dodge is a first-generation college student, which, according to a university news release, allows her to bring a unique perspective to the position.
“She is a tireless advocate for human rights, civil liberties, and equal opportunity. She collaborates with all campus stakeholders to recruit and retain diverse faculty, students, and staff, support first-generation students and student veterans, and create a more welcoming campus climate,” Loh said in a press release.
Dodge took a somewhat unconventional path to her career in education. She served in the navy as an electronics technician for six years before earning her associate degree from Golden West Community College. She graduated with honors and went onto attend the University of California Irvine, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. Dodge then went on to earn an MA and Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles.
“As I join the University of Maryland community, I want to learn from its members what the most pressing issues of the community are… as we celebrate the successes that have been achieved. I want to work in partnership with community members to determine the best ways to address problems, knowing that sometimes multiple approaches may be required for a single issue,” Dodge said.