Commission on Ethnicity, Race, and Equity

fall foliage with a few people walking around

Presidential Commission on Ethnicity, Race, and Equity

Founded under President Kim Bottomly in 2015, the Presidential Commission on Race, Ethnicity and Equity (CERE) was originally charged with charting out a comprehensive plan to address inequities related to race and ethnicity on campus. Since then, the commission has evolved to become what it is today: a multi-constituency body that thinks collectively about equity at the college, and advises the President of the college on pressing issues related to equity, broadly defined.

In recent years, the commission has weighed in on a range of issues affecting equity on campus life, including the future of public safety at the college, the pathway to an equity-focused curriculum, building stronger relationships between faculty, staff, and administration, and community-wide dialogues related to difficult conversations. More recently, CERE has focused on developing strategies for addressing the promotion and retention of diverse faculty and staff and collaborates with other committees on campus to promote equity on our campus and facilitate conversations between the Office of the President, the Office of the Provost and official committees of Academic Council.

2021-2022 CERE Members

Cord J. Whitaker
Cord J. Whitaker
Chair, Associate Professor of English
DaQuana Carter
DaQuana Carter
Director of Nondiscrimination Initiatives and Title IX Coordinator/504 Coordinator
Itzelt Reyes Chaparro
Itzelt Reyes Chaparro
Class of 2023
Elizabeth R. DeSombre
Elizabeth R. DeSombre
Camilla Chandler Frost Professor of Environmental Studies
Sheilah Horton
Sheilah Horton
Vice President and Dean of Students
Jenna Hua
Jenna Hua
Class of 2022
Erich Hatala Matthes
Erich Hatala Matthes
Associate Professor of Philosophy; Director, The Camilla Chandler Frost ’47 Center for the Environment
Awino Odhiambo
Awino Odhiambo
Class of 2022
Deavihan Scott
Deavihan Scott
Class of 2022
Ines Maturana Sendoya
Ines Maturana Sendoya
Associate Dean of Students for Inclusion and Engagement
Emma Slibeck
Emma Slibeck
Class of 2024
Joy St. John
Joy St. John
Dean of Admission and Financial Aid
Hui Xiong
Hui Xiong
Associate Director of Institutional Research