CAHSS Alum Named SUNY Plattsburgh VP for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Michelle Cromwell, Ph.D., was named Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the State University of NY at Plattsburgh. In this position, which she assumed in July 2019, she works closely with other college vice presidents and academic deans, Human Resource Services, Affirmative Action, Title IX, Strategic Enrollment Management, the Faculty Senate, and the Center for Teaching Excellence. She co-chairs the Bias Response Team and serves as the President’s Cabinet liaison to the Social Justice Advisory Council.

Prior to her current position, Cromwell was the Associate Vice President for Inclusive Excellence and Chief Diversity Officer at Regis College, in Weston, Massachusetts. She also served as the chief diversity officer at The School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont. Before moving to Vermont, Cromwell was an associate professor of politics and social justice, as well as director of the Honors Program from 2010 to 2016 at Regis College.

Cromwell was the cofounding executive director at the Massachusetts Peacemaking and Talking Circle Initiative, a nonprofit organization designed to foster conversations about discrimination and racism in schools, nonprofits, and organizations. In addition, she serves as an independent consultant working with nonprofits, higher-education institutions, corporations, and government entities with an emphasis on conflict resolution, crisis management, and diversity and inclusion.

Cromwell visited NSU last year to receive an NSU Distinguished Alumna Award (2018) and provided a workshop on Talking and Peace Circles. She was the featured guest presenter at the Social Justice Roundtable in CAHSS in September 2018.

In addition to her M.S. in Dispute Resolution and Ph.D. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from NSU, she earned a B.S. in social work at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago.