Administrative restructuring moves equity functions to Office of Human Resources
Virginia Tech's equal opportunity and access functions, including the university's Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) initiatives, compliance and conflict resolution programs, and equity initiative functions, will now be administered by the Office of Human Resources.
This transition will be completed no later than the end of the spring semester. David Travis, interim executive director of equity and access, will oversee the new administrative unit. The university will conduct a national search for a permanent executive director of equity and access.
Diversity programming and outreach efforts will be administered in a newly-configured Office for Diversity and Inclusion, which will report to Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger. Edward Spencer, vice president for student affairs, is leading a national search for a new vice president for diversity and inclusion.
Kevin McDonald, vice president for equity and inclusion since 2007, left Virginia Tech at the end of 2009 to become the chief diversity officer for Rochester Institute of Technology.
“Our ADA efforts, our compliance and conflict resolution programs, and our equity initiatives already benefit from strong , collaborative partnerships with our human resources colleagues, including those in employee relations, staffing, benefits, compensation, and university organizational and professional development,” said Karen Eley Sanders, interim vice president for diversity and inclusion. “Having a more immediate connection between these functions will enable us to provide even better services to members of the Virginia Tech community.”
“I look forward with great anticipation to the ideas, energy, and experience of the individuals who will be joining the Human Resources team, said Hal Irvin, associate vice president of human resources. “Their work has already made a difference for the university, which has come to rely on these individuals in building and maintaining a respectful and inclusive environment for all members of the Virginia Tech community.”
