AUSTIN, Texas—Dr. Gregory J. Vincent, vice provost for institutional equity and diversity at the University of Oregon since 2003, has been appointed to the new position of vice provost for inclusion and cross-cultural effectiveness at The University of Texas at Austin.
Dr. Larry R. Faulkner, president of the university, said Vincent will lead development of the campus as a more diverse and welcoming environment.
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Dr. Gregory J. Vincent |
Faulkner created the position last year in response to recommendations by the university’s Task Force on Racial Respect and Fairness. Faulkner initiated a nationwide search that involved campus interviews with the finalists this spring.
Vincent, who will report to Provost Sheldon Ekland-Olson, will begin his new job by Aug. 1, Ekland-Olson said. Vincent will participate in the Vice Presidents’ Council and the University Leadership Council. Beginning in September, he also will join the faculty as a professor in the Department of Educational Administration in the College of Education.
“Gregory Vincent is a national leader in campus community issues and will bring energy and imagination to this new position, which the university has created to make the UT campus an even more diverse and welcoming place,” Faulkner said. “He has an impressive record of achievement at other universities, where he has developed initiatives and long-term action plans that have enriched the cross-cultural character of those institutions. We are confident that he will bring that same vision and dedication to The University of Texas at Austin.”
“We are very fortunate to have attracted Dr. Vincent,” said Ekland-Olson. “He is, without question, a leading national figure in advancing a richly diverse educational environment for students, faculty and staff alike. The quality of his experience and professional training in law and educational administration bring substantial increased strength to a wide range of initiatives we are pursuing.”
Vincent said, “I’m deeply honored to have been selected for this position and to work with the campus community to advance strategies that will make the campus more inclusive. I felt that the selection process was first rate and that it provided a great introduction to the campus. I look forward to working with the president, the provost and all members of the community.”
Before joining the University of Oregon, Vincent was vice provost for academic affairs and campus diversity at Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge from 2000-2003, and had been the university’s vice provost for campus diversity from 1999-2000. Vincent also was a law professor and before that taught graduate courses in the university’s College of Education.
He also has been assistant vice chancellor for academic affairs and director of the Equity and Diverse Resource Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Vincent’s professional experience includes having been a vice president of Bank One Cleveland in Cleveland from 1994-95; director for regional and legal affairs at the Ohio Civil Rights Commission in Cleveland, 1991-94; assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Section of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office in Columbus, Ohio, 1988-91; and an associate with a law firm in Charleston, W. Va., 1987-88.
Vincent earned his doctor of education degree, with emphasis in higher education from The University of Pennsylvania, his juris doctor degree from The Ohio State University College of Law and his bachelor of arts degree, with majors in history and economics, from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, N.Y.
Dr. Barbara White, dean of the School of Social Work, was chair of the vice provost search committee.
“The members of the Search Advisory Committee are delighted that Dr. Vincent will join our university community,” said White. “I am confident that he will continue his impressive record of using his extraordinary leadership skills and rich experiences to enhance our efforts here at The University of Texas at Austin.”
Faulkner’s decision to create the new campus-level leadership position was influenced by a report by a 15-member Task Force on Racial Respect and Fairness, consisting of students, faculty and staff members. Faulkner had convened the task force in March 2003 in the wake of several incidents that, according to the president, “highlighted the racial frictions that prevent our university community from realizing optimum mutual benefits for the whole community or for individual members.”
The task force report had recommended the creation of a vice presidential position. Faulkner acknowledged the need for “a structure that can provide for more consistent attention” to the initiative. He decided this “central officer” should be a vice provost because this position “provides the best proximity to the areas where action can most benefit the university—in the recruitment of students, in the recruitment and development of faculty, and in curriculum.”
In announcing creation of the new position in August, Faulkner said the new vice provost would have “ready access” to the president, the provost and the vice presidents and deans. He also said the officer would have resources to sponsor beneficial new programs across the university and would report annually on progress to the leadership of the university and to the public.
For more information contact: Robert D. Meckel, Office of Public Affairs, 512-475-7847.
