Keisha Blevins appointed Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer

Dear Colleagues,

To better support the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts on campus, I have named Keisha Blevins UM-Dearborn's chief diversity and inclusion officer. Keisha will continue to serve as my chief of staff and senior advisor and continue to be a facilitator for our campus-wide strategic planning initiatives. As DEI is one of our strategic priorities, in her new role, Keisha will also be a key partner in providing purposeful leadership for university-wide DEI efforts. She will also serve as the primary point of contact for all university matters related to DEI initiatives and activities. Collaborating, coordinating, and strategizing with internal and external stakeholders, she will help us develop, manage, and support data-informed diversity and inclusion strategies, identify new resources, programs or initiatives to strengthen respect, diversity and inclusivity, support strategic collaboration between units, address issues facing various populations on campus, and promote change and culture initiatives that will enable UM-Dearborn to realize our shared vision of a more diverse, equitable, inclusive and just campus community. Keisha will continue to engage with the DEI Working Group. To be clear, the appointment of Keisha to this role does not relieve any of us from continuing our steadfast and resolute commitment to supporting the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Prior to serving as chief of staff and senior advisor to the chancellor, Keisha served as the director of human resources for the Dearborn Campus and associate director in academic human resources at UM-Ann Arbor. Since the beginning of her employment at the university in 2005, she has also held roles as a human resources consultant at Michigan Medicine and in Staff Human Resources, where her responsibilities included administration of collective bargaining agreements and advising on the interpretation and application of a broad range of human resources policies, procedures, and practices. She has received several certifications in executive coaching, diversity, equity, and inclusion, mitigating unconscious bias, positive leadership, human resources, and mediation. Keisha holds a bachelor's degree in organizational studies from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and a juris doctor from the Wayne State University Law School.

Please join me in congratulating Keisha on her new appointment. Let us all commit to supporting her in her new role, but also let us all continue our commitment to work together to make sure UM-Dearborn’s campus culture exemplifies inclusive excellence.

Go Blue - Go Dearborn!

Domenico Grasso
Chancellor