Over the course of the last semester, the Colleges have been looking for a new Vice President
of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, inviting many applicants onto campus to interact with
students and get a feel for the community here at HWS. Just a few weeks ago, the Colleges
were thrilled to announce that they have officially filled the position, and our new Vice
President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is Bill Woodson. He’s worked in academia for the
past 16 years and before that he worked on the corporate side in non-profits and big tech
industries, helping these companies diversify and make their practices more inclusive.
Since his time here on campus he has made an effort to get to know students and staff alike,
showing up to different club meetings and inviting students to his office to get a feel for the
culture and community here on campus. His main prerogative right now is to get to know
people and get some ideas of where the campus is doing things really well and where there
might be room for improvement and growth that will enrich our community even further. He
encourages all students and staff alike to continue to stop by his office located in Coxe Hall on
the first floor, and have more conversations or just bounce ideas off each other so he can
continue to get a feel for the campus from all perspectives. He emphasizes that he is here to
serve not just minority groups on campus, but everybody.
Due to Woodson only being on campus for such a short period of time, he is still working on
some new ideas for helping our campus grow in encouraging diversity, equity, and inclusion.
But he has had time to establish some goals he has for our student body, specifically revitalizing
and straightening previously established cultural and identity clubs here on campus.
A question he has specifically for the student body that will help him enter this role and
successfully do his job is, “if you are being broadened, is this a place where you feel it is
relatively easy to make connections outside your bubble or is it hard?” He encourages students
to stop by his office or send him an email with their answer to this question and continue to
build this path of communication with students. His main priority is to ensure that students are
having unique and amazing experiences and get to know people who may have different
backgrounds than them, because he encourages us to see for ourselves just how much we have
to learn from the people around us.
We are so excited to see what opportunities and exciting changes will soon come to pass here
on campus in inviting Dr. Woodson into our community.
