ISSUED: 19 June 2020
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Dr. Chiquita Howard-Bostic has been named associate vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusivity at Shepherd University. Howard-Bostic will report to the president in her associate vice president role and serve on the Executive Leadership Team of the institution.
Howard-Bostic will serve as a key leader on the Diversity and Equity Committee, and will participate in university strategic planning in the areas of diversity, inclusion, and social justice. She will work with the Office of Human Resources to integrate diversity best practices into institutional employment and workplace practices and will propose institutional programming, including faculty and staff training programs in developing cultural competencies and cultivating and retaining future leaders from diverse backgrounds.
“The unique qualifications of Dr. Howard-Bostic in the areas of innovative academic course delivery, together with her community leadership on diversity and social justice issues and her development of new initiatives in criminal justice education, collectively bring an expertise to Shepherd University that will have a significant impact on our students, employees, and the community at large,” said Dr. Mary J.C. Hendrix, president of Shepherd.
Working collaboratively with the Office of University Communications, Division of Student Affairs, and Office of Human Resources, Howard-Bostic will participate in developing communication strategies, employee and student training, and web resources to support diversity, inclusion, and social justice, and will serve as the primary educator for the university on social equity issues, including orientation of new students.
She will review, revise, or create university policies addressing discrimination, harassment, and violence and will contribute to the maintenance of a database of statistical, demographic, and subject matter data related to civil rights, social equity, and compliance.
Howard-Bostic, an associate professor of sociology, is the chair of the Department of Sociology, Criminology, and Criminal Justice. A member of the Shepherd faculty since 2013, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Urban Planning from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 2011.
She was awarded the 2015 Shepherd University Outstanding Teacher Award and was featured on the READ poster in the Scarborough Library. Howard-Bostic received the Outstanding Service Award in 2017 and the Outstanding Academic Advisor Award in 2020. She was the first recipient of Shepherd’s Storer College Award, which recognizes faculty members who incorporate diversity and social justice into their classroom, research, scholarship, and interaction with students.
Howard-Bostic’s research and journal publications have advanced the study of transformational leadership, cross-cultural motivations for aggression, and intimate partner violence. The studies also offer perspectives and innovative strategies that embrace equity and inclusion across race, class, gender, and accessibility.
— 30 —
