Kevin McDonald to take position at Rochester Institute of Technology; Karen Eley Sanders appointed acting vice president for equity and inclusion

Kevin McDonald, vice president for equity and inclusion since 2007, has taken a position as chief diversity officer for Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, N.Y.

“We wish Kevin the very best in his new role at RIT. He has been a solid university citizen advancing the university-wide diversity and multi-cultural efforts,” said Charles W. Steger, Virginia Tech president. Among his accomplishments during his tenure, McDonald oversaw the creation of the Presidential Scholarship Initiative, the partnership with the An Achievable Dream (AAD) organization, and established the university Conflict Resolution Program.

"I'm very proud of the accomplishments of the Office for Equity and Inclusion. We have worked hard to make excellence inclusive at Virginia Tech, and I will definitely miss the Virginia Tech family," says McDonald.

McDonald was hired in July 2005 as director of equal opportunity and later promoted to vice president for multicultural affairs in 2007 following a national search. The office was later renamed equity and inclusion in 2008.

Karen Eley Sanders, currently associate vice president for academic support services, will become interim vice president for equity and inclusion upon McDonald’s departure in January 2010.

Read related Virginia Tech News articles:

• “Office for Equal Opportunity, Office of Multicultural Affairs merge to form Office for Equity and Inclusion”
• “Virginia Tech among eight schools working to increase underrepresented students pursuing science and engineering”
• “Virginia Tech names Kevin McDonald vice president for multicultural affairs”