Virginia Tech names Kevin McDonald vice president for multicultural affairs
Kevin G. McDonald of Blacksburg, director of the Office for Equal Opportunity at Virginia Tech since 2005, has been named the university's vice president for multicultural affairs. He will assume his new responsibilities June 25.
McDonald succeeds Benjamin Dixon, who served as vice president from 1998 until his retirement Dec. 31, 2006.
“In his role as director of the Office for Equal Opportunity, Kevin exemplified the university’s commitment to furthering an inclusive campus community,” said Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger. “After an extensive national search, we found that the very best candidate with the vision, the leadership, and the character needed for this very important position was right here among us.”
As vice president for multicultural affairs, McDonald will provide leadership in the development of university policies and practices related to intercultural relations, diversity, and equity issues, and programs that strengthen and sustain a more diverse and inclusive campus community. In addition, the Office for Equal Opportunity will now report to the Office of the Vice President for Multicultural Affairs.
As director of the Office for Equal Opportunity, McDonald provided leadership for the university’s affirmative action, equal opportunity, and diversity efforts, including compliance and outreach. In addition, he worked closely with the university’s senior management in developing and implementing equal opportunity and affirmative action plans and strategies and ensured the university’s compliance with all local, state, and federal civil-rights laws and regulations.
Prior to coming to Virginia Tech, McDonald had served as associate director for compliance and conflict resolution at The Johns Hopkins University. In that position, he developed and coordinated the implementation of Johns Hopkins University’s first online sexual-harassment and discrimination-prevention training programs and wrote the university’s first Anti-Harassment Policy. He also created the university’s Mediation Services Program and facilitated conversations around topics such as civility, diversity, conflict resolution, and the recruitment and retention of diverse faculty, staff, and students.
McDonald has also served as the campus compliance officer for the Office of Human Relations at the University of Maryland, and also served as the dispute administrator at Network Solutions Inc. in Herndon, Va., and the disability rights investigator for the Civil Rights Division of the Disability Rights Section of the United States Department of Justice.
McDonald earned a bachelor’s degree from Andrews University and a Juris Doctor from The Ohio State University College of Law. He is a certified mediator in both traditional and transformative/social justice models of mediation and holds an affirmative-action certificate from Cornell University. He is a member of the Association for Conflict Resolution.
