University of Massachusetts Amherst issued the following announcement on June 26.
Emma Anderson and Erika Dawson-Head have been named the College of Information and Computer Sciences’ first directors of diversity.
Anderson will be focused internally on building community and celebrating diverse identities and perspectives in the college. She will also work on increasing retention within the CICS community. Dawson-Head will be focused externally on recruiting students, faculty and staff of diverse backgrounds to CICS and will lead the college's outreach efforts to broaden participation in the computer and information sciences.
“As a college, we embrace and encourage diversity in many forms and we are committed to inclusivity among our community members, including all students, staff, and faculty,” says Laura Haas, dean of CICS. “Emma and Erika, in their respective roles, will lead us in making our college even more welcoming than it is today, both to those already part of the community, and those we hope will join us.”
Prior to joining CICS, Anderson was a high school computer science teacher at University Prep, a college preparatory school in Seattle. While there, she worked on building a strong AP curriculum in conjunction with faculty at the University of Washington and created one of the first programs in data science for high school students in Washington state. She also worked on social justice and diversity initiatives, including leading white affinity groups for students and staff and assisting with the middle school gender and sexuality alliance. Anderson received her bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College in gender, sexuality and feminist studies with a minor in computer science. She received her master’s degree in teaching math and science from Seattle Pacific University. Her preferred gender pronoun is she.
Dawson-Head comes to CICS from the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, where, as the university’s diversity and employee engagement coordinator, she was instrumental in establishing the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. She has been an administrator, participant and presenter at the True Colors Conference for LGBT Youth and an active participant in Tri-state Diversity Committee. She also served as a commissioner for the City of New Britain, Connecticut, for the Commission on Community and Neighborhood Development. Dawson-Head received a bachelor’s degree in political science and sociology from Central Connecticut State University. She received her master’s degree in counseling with a specialization in student development in higher education. Her preferred gender pronoun is she.
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up