May 25, 2023
Dear Faculty, Students, and Staff,
I am thrilled to announce that Sheree M. Ohen, most recently the associate dean for equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging at Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, will join the Amherst community as our Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer (CEIO) on June 20.
As CEIO, Sheree will oversee the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, which is responsible for leading Amherst’s institutional diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, ensuring compliance with Title IX and other civil rights standards, and partnering with colleagues across campus. She will also serve as a member of my senior staff, and she will help to shape our broader institutional strategy.
Sheree brings a wealth of experience to this important leadership position for the College. At Harvard, she supported a community of more than 15,000 individuals, with a particular focus on partnership building, policy development, diversity training, and institutional accountability. She previously served as chief officer of diversity and inclusion at Clark University and in leadership positions at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the University of California, San Francisco. You can learn much more about Sheree in this morning’s press release.
I am very grateful to the interim leaders who have led our diversity and inclusion efforts since 2021—Professor Allen Hart, Dean Angie Tissi-Gassoway, and Professor Sheila Jaswal—and to the co-chairs of the search committee—Associate Provost Pawan Dingra and Dean Matt McGann. Their leadership and commitment have been invaluable throughout this transition.
I hope you will join me in welcoming Sheree to campus next month.
Sincerely,
Michael A. Elliott
President