Rickey L. Hall, assistant vice president for equity and diversity at the University of Minnesota, has been named vice chancellor for diversity at UT.
He will begin work in June 2013. The position was created to enhance the campus culture and direct all diversity efforts.
“We are pleased that Rickey will be joining us. He has a strong background in achieving the goals that we have for enhancing our learning environment,” Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek said. “Diversity, civility, and community are core campus values. They create a more robust academic environment. They make our university a more welcoming—and more interesting—place for all of us.”
Hall will report to the chancellor and work closely with administrators, related commissions and organizations, and other members of the campus community. He will help recruit and retain diverse faculty and staff and increase the enrollment and retention of diverse students.
“I am humbled and deeply honored to be appointed the founding vice chancellor for diversity,” he said. “There are many good diversity initiatives under way at the university, and I think I can help move those forward. I look forward to working with the campus community on inclusive excellence and making diversity truly an educational benefit.”
Hall has been at the University of Minnesota since 1998 and in his current position since 2007. Prior to that he served as the university’s associate to the vice president for equity and diversity. He established the Office of Multicultural Service at the university’s School of Public Health in 2002 and served as its director for four years. He simultaneously served as director of recruitment for the School of Public Health for two years. He directed the Minority Student Program of the university’s Morris campus for four years.
From 1995 to 1998, he was the director of student diversity programs and services at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa.
Hall serves as a regional coordinator for the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) Commission on Access, Diversity, and Excellence.
He will complete his Doctor of Education in organizational leadership at the University of Minnesota next year. He has a master’s degree in higher education and a bachelor’s degree in American studies, both from the University of Iowa.
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C O N T A C T :
Amy Blakely (974-5034, ablakely@utk.edu)