Bridging equity gaps: Ivy Tech hires new vice president of diversity, equity and belonging

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In her new role as Ivy Tech Community College’s vice president of diversity, equity and belonging, Doneisha Posey said she will serve as a sounding board.

“The position of vice president of diversity, equity and belonging is really the first step for Ivy Tech to take a statewide focus on our diversity and equity efforts,” Posey said. “So, my role is really to be a sounding board and advisor, a coach for our staff, our faculty and our students when it comes to our diversity and belonging efforts.”

Posey began her position April 6, but prior to that, she spent the several months working for Ivy Tech. She started with the college in November 2019 as executive director of employee diversity. Her new title also is new to the school.

“They had this position before, but this is the first time they’ve used this title,” she said.

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Doneisha Posey was recently hired as Ivy Tech Community College’s vice president of Diversity, Equity and Belonging. (Submitted photo)

Posey’s day-to-day duties will look different, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“With everyone working from home, my role is to be visible internally with our students, staff and faculty, and also externally around the state with our community, community organizations and community leaders that work alongside us in partnership to create more equitable education opportunities,” the Lawrence resident said.

So far, Posey has performed a wealth of professional development and training on topics such as workplace accommodations, sexual harassment in the workplace and making sure minorities are being recruited, promoted and retained at the same levels as their nonminority counterparts.

“When it comes to student diversity and equity issues, I’m working alongside our faculty and our other student-serving employees to make sure when we are, for example, looking at creating curriculum, we do it with a diversity mindset so everyone within our college feels like they belong, not only physically in the school, but also within the curriculum and pedagogies that our staff use,” Posey said. “It’s so important everyone feels they belong, and I’m so happy Ivy Tech is using the word ‘belonging’ and not necessarily just ‘including’ because everyone should feel as if they belong, and if they do belong, we see increased performance of our students in the classroom and increased engagement in our employees working day to day.

“It just makes sense for the college to put an emphasis on belonging.”

Posey will frequently travel to each of Ivy Tech’s 18 campuses across the state.

“I’m excited to help the college focus some of our efforts on creating equity as a statewide institution,” she said. “We see equity in different ways, whether that’s racial equity, urban versus rural equity, gender equity. There’s so many different ways we can consider equity, and I’m excited to take a look at that from all different perspectives in alignment with ensuring our students are ready for the workforce after they finish their credentialing and certificates at Ivy Tech.”

Outside of work, Posey has two children, a 4-year-old and a 5-year-old, who keep her busy.
“I like to spend time with my family,” she said. “I also teach a couple of courses at IU McKinney School of Law, so I like teaching and just spending time with family and friends.”

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Doneisha Posey began her position in April. (Submitted photo)

Doneisha Posey’s experience

The position for Ivy Tech Community College’s vice president of Diversity, Equity and Belonging was posted nationally and had more than 90 applicants. Lawrence resident Doneisha Posey was hired and started in early April.

Prior to Ivy Tech, Posey worked as deputy director and general counsel for the Indiana Civil Rights Commission. She also is an adjunct law professor at Indiana University McKinney School of Law, where she teaches Housing Discrimination and Segregation as well as Race and the Law.

In 2019, Posey received the Indiana Civil Rights Commission’s Drum Major for Justice Award and was the 2018 Marion County Bar Association Lawyer of the Year.


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