Catholic colleges and universities serve increasingly diverse student communities. Senior Diversity Officers and other campus leaders help institutions respond to the needs of these communities while advancing their Catholic mission and commitment to the dignity of every person.
ACCU supports Senior Diversity Officers through opportunities for professional development, collaboration, and the exchange of resources and best practices. The Association also convenes an annual Senior Diversity Officers Pre-Conference in conjunction with the ACCU Annual Meeting.
ACCU is a chapter of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE), providing another avenue for connection and collaboration among senior diversity officers at Catholic colleges and universities. This chapter is co-chaired by Krishauna Hines-Gaither, Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships, Mount Saint Mary’s University Los Angeles and Redgina Dixon-Reeves, Ph.D., Vice Provost for Academic Excellence, University of San Diego.
Mission
To provide a forum for diversity professionals and university leaders to develop an equity- mindedness framework combining faith, reason, and eliminating systemic and structural barriers to access and opportunity in Catholic higher education and in the broader society.
- Connection: Create a space for diversity officers in Catholic higher education to discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion and create a sense of community.
- Collective Action: Advocate for action-based programs and initiatives that disrupt and transform Catholic higher education.
- Collaboration: Collaborate and share best practices for internal synergy with mission officers, presidents, and other university leaders to develop equity-mindedness and social justice.
- Creation: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Guiding Principles inform diversity and executive leaders on what must be done to achieve equity in ACCU institutions.
- Communication: Provide a forum for diversity, equity, and inclusion learning. Intellectual contributions and communique on diversity, equity, and inclusion positions on current issues
Senior Diversity Officers Pre-Conference at the
2027 ACCU Annual Meeting
ACCU convenes Senior Diversity Officers for a dedicated pre-conference held in conjunction with the ACCU Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.
Many thanks to the 2027 Senior Diversity Officers Conference Planning Committee who are planning this year’s program! We are grateful to Rev. Page, University of Notre Dame, who has been selected as our new chair.
Rev. Hugh Page, Jr
VICE PRESIDENT FOR BELONGING, ENGAGEMENT, AND MISSION AND ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME (CHAIR)
Redgina Hill
VICE PRESIDENT FOR BELONGING, SAINT MARY’S COLLEGE
Krishauna Hines-Gaither
VICE PRESIDENT FOR STRATEGIC INITIATIVES AND PARTNERSHIPS, MOUNT SAINT MARY’S UNIVERSITY, LOS ANGELES
Donald “DJ” Mitchell
VICE PRESIDENT FOR MISSION INTEGRATION, MOLLOY UNIVERSITY
Dania Matos
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR BELONGING, ENGAGEMENT, AND MISSION, DEPAUL UNIVERSITY
Additional Resources
Past Events
Thank you for attending the 2026 Senior Diversity Officers Pre-conference!
History
In 2019, DePaul University collaborated with the University of Notre Dame to launch the Consortium of Diversity Officers in Catholic Higher Education. In August 2019, the group held its inaugural convening on DePaul’s Loop Campus to discuss the incorporation and intersection of mission, Catholic values, and faith in diversity, equity, and inclusion work.
Twenty-two diversity professionals and religious leaders from universities across the country attended the two-day summer retreat. The group used a pastoral letter on racism, issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, as a vehicle for the discussion. The group used the pastoral letter as the starting point of an ongoing conversation regarding the meaning and varying strategies to incorporate Catholic social justice teaching and institutional mission into the work of diversity and inclusion in Catholic higher education. The retreat served as an essential first step in discussing diversity, equity, and inclusion through the lens of Catholic education and in the formation of a network of diversity professionals.
Participants at the first retreat developed a camaraderie, shared similar experiences, and discussed strategies for driving institutional change and the importance of developing a network that provides guiding principles to diversity officers and university leaders. The Consortium hopes to transform systems through collective action and to provide thought leadership on what it means to exist in faith, develop equitable diversity and inclusion systems, and guide Catholic higher education.
The Consortium held a second virtual retreat in September 2020, hosted by Creighton University. Thirty-three senior diversity officers participated in a virtual forum to discuss antiracism efforts on their campuses and continue conversations on formalizing the group structure. Following the Creighton University retreat, the Consortium spent the fall drafting its mission and purpose and developing an action plan for a more significant convening as part of the ACCU Annual Meeting. Since then, the Consortium has held five in-person pre-conference institutes at the ACCU Annual Meeting and published its first publication to aid Senior Diversity Officers. In March 2023, the Consortium became an official chapter of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education.