With the departure of Mikayla Carter in May 2024, the university’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) is now under new leadership. Tristen Davis, who has been serving as the associate director in the Office of Student and Community Engagement, has taken on the role of director for the ODI, combining her duties from both offices to increase collaboration across campus initiatives.
Carter expressed gratitude to the university community in a farewell email on May 24, 2024.
Carter said, “I wanted to thank you for all that you’ve given to the office in laughs, hard work, community, and care…what I will cherish most about my time here is what I’ve learned from each of you along the way.”
Since stepping into her new role, Davis has been focusing on aligning student-facing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives with broader programming efforts on campus.
Davis said, “The university wanted to move the student-facing diversity, equity and inclusion work closer to other programming initiatives to allow for easier collaboration, and this dual-role for me is helping achieve that.”
As part of her responsibilities, Davis oversees support for ODI-affiliated organizations, amplifying their efforts with recognizing cultural celebrations and holidays.
Davis said, “The ODI continues to provide additional support to identity-based organizations by supporting their programming, amplifying their work, recognizing cultural celebrations and special holidays.”
Davis is also involved with the Presidential Advisory Council for Inclusive Excellence (PACIE), which coordinates diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) resources across various departments.
Davis said, “The work of PACIE is focused on coordinating DEI resources to improve and support various offices, departments and other spaces on campus.”
One of Davis’s first initiatives in her new leadership role is the relaunch of October as Global Diversity Month.
“We have asked identity-based organizations to come together to schedule a month’s worth of events, programs and celebrations which acknowledge perspectives, accomplishments, and cultures from around the world,” Davis said.
She confirmed that long-standing programs like Pizza and the Paper, a bi-weekly event held at the Denvy Bowman Center, will continue.
Davis made it clear that there will not be another replacement for Mikayla Carter’s role.
She said, “I am leading the work of the ODI and am able to triage any concerns that need to be relayed elsewhere and can pull in additional supports if needed.”
Davis’s leadership marks a new chapter for the ODI, one that focuses on continuing strengthening the university’s diversity goals and enhancing collaboration across departments to create a more inclusive student experience.
Davis will be joined in staffing the ODI by student employees, Annette Wainwright, the graduate assistant for both the ODI and the Center for Global Education and Deanna Wagner, associate provost and Title IX coordinator.
