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Shealey Named Senior Vice President to Lead Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Rowan

This article on AACTE Board of Director Monika Williams Shealey and accompanying photo originally appeared in Rowan Today and are reprinted with permission.

Monika Williams Shealey has been named senior vice president of the newly created Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Rowan University.

Shealey, who joined Rowan as dean of the College of Education in 2013, will oversee a division that brings together departments and programs to develop initiatives designed to address issues of access, equity and inclusion across all of the University’s campuses.

“Under Dr. Shealey, the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will be tasked with making Rowan a model institution—a University where diversity is valued and equity and inclusion are routine,” Rowan President Ali A. Houshmand said in announcing Shealey’s appointment.

“She is the perfect person to lead our institution in this critically important work.”

The Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion brings under one umbrella programs and departments with similar missions. Those programs include: Achieving Success Through Collaboration, Engagement and Determination, which encompasses both the EOF and RISE programs; the Office of Social Justice, Inclusion, and Conflict Resolution; the Title IX Office; and the Faculty Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning.

Shealey will serve as dean until June 30, but already has begun laying the groundwork for the new division. Houshmand announced her appointment last month.

“This position addresses issues that are at the core of who I am as an educator, leader and scholar,” Shealey said. “I’m pleased to collaborate with colleagues University-wide to bring about positive changes at Rowan and to develop our institution into a national leader in areas of diversity, equity and inclusion.”

A former classroom special education teacher, Shealey has focused her career on two major themes: Access to education and advocacy for equitable educational opportunities for all learners.

As dean, she established the Center for Access, Success and Equity (CASE) in the College of Education; led the development of the Ph.D. in education, which is housed in CASE; expanded the University’s Professional Development Schools Network to include nine South Jersey schools; and founded Project IMPACT (Increasing Male Practitioners and Classroom Teachers), a program that aims to increase the representation of males from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds in the field of education.

The College of Education boasts 13 Holmes Scholars, making it one of the largest programs in the nation. The Holmes Scholars program supports students from historically underrepresented communities enrolled in doctoral programs in education. Shealey, herself, is a Holmes Scholar alumna.

In 2017, Shealey was named a woman of excellence by SJ Magazine. She received the Game Changer Award in recognition of her work in leading the College of Education.

Also in 2017, she received the Teacher Diversity Research Award from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. The award recognizes outstanding research and advocacy for the advancement of teacher diversity.

Shealey earned her Ph.D. in education, with a specialization in exceptional student education, from the University of Central Florida. She also holds degrees from the University of Miami and the University of South Florida.


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