The Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion performs several essential functions:

• Serves as a member of both the President’s Senior Leadership Team and Provost’s Executive Team and contributes to strategic institutional discussions and planning.
• Designs, supports, and implements innovative programs, policies, and practices that promote inclusive excellence, stimulate a climate and culture of inclusivity, encourage full participation in University life, and cultivate courageous conversations about systemic inequities. 
• Collaborates with community members to identify promising practices that support student, faculty, and staff success, identify institutional obstacles, and dismantle barriers, particularly for those from historically marginalized and underrepresented groups.
• Amplifies discussions about the importance of inclusive excellence in our curriculum, pedagogical approaches, research, and service.

Carnegie Mellon University Appoints Wanda Heading-Grant as Inaugural Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer

In a message sent out to the UVM Community on January 14, President Garimella announced Dr. Wanda Heading-Grant will be leaving the University of Vermont for a new role at the Pittsburgh-based institution. 

READ THE PRESIDENT'S FULL ANNOUNCEMENT

Vermont Women in Higher Education Announces New Award Named for Dr. Wanda Heading-Grant

The Dr. Wanda Heading-Grant Award for Justice will be presented to a woman who has demonstrated significant commitment and leadership in fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education, especially uplifting and empowering those from traditionally marginalized and underrepresented communities.

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UVM Diversity Guru Wanda Heading-Grant Makes Hard Conversations Look Easy by Seven Days

Wanda Heading-Grant was 18 years old in the fall of 1983 when, as an incoming first-year student at the University of Vermont, she walked across the Burlington campus to visit a friend she'd made that summer. By the time she reached the friend's dorm, Heading-Grant recalled, tears were streaming down her face.

READ SEVEN DAYS ARTICLE

Heading-Grant Chosen One of 166 Women to Watch by Leading Diversity Journal