Purdue names director of Diversity Resource Office
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Carolyn E. Johnson, who served as interim director for the Diversity Resource Office for the past year, was named effective July 1, said Alysa Christmas Rollock, vice president for human relations.
"Dr. Johnson has been responsible for helping to build a strong foundation for the Diversity Resource Office during the last year with programs such as DiversiKey and the Diversity Fellows, which support both students and faculty here at Purdue," Rollock said. "She has proven to be a sophisticated, creative leader who has been in on the ground level as we continue to build a foundation for diversity, and she is well-equipped to help Purdue move forward to set the standard of diversity for universities everywhere."
Diversity Resource Office programs also include Learning through Experience and Awareness in Diversity, which places peer mentors with first-year students, and the Diversity Roundtable, a networking forum that meets five times a year with 50 members from all across campus.
"People are genuinely interested in the Diversity Roundtable because it gives them a fuller picture of what diversity is on campus," Johnson said. "From the chief of police to associate deans, our members have a place for potential collaboration, sharing of information and identifying and exploring diversity."
Johnson hopes to be able to coordinate more programs that connect the university to business and industry on diversity issues.
"We want the Diversity Resource Office to be the first place people come for information on issues of diversity," she said. "With our international student population, we can help develop an understanding of how broad diversity is by exploring the global implications. We'd like to move toward helping people to be better equipped to discuss diversity issues and show them there's no issue too difficult to discuss."
Before coming to Purdue, Johnson taught in the Elkhart Community Schools in Elkhart, Ind., and has been an independent consultant to numerous school districts on teacher training, curriculum development, instructional planning and educational administration. She also has been involved in educational and social projects around the world.
Johnson also was the executive director of the Hanna Community Council, a non-profit, United Way agency that provides social services in Tippecanoe County.
She earned a bachelor's and a master's degree in elementary education from Indiana University in 1968 and 1970, respectively. She received her doctorate in educational administration from Purdue in 1985.
The Office of the Vice President for Human Relations oversees the areas of the Diversity Resource Office, as well as the Women's Resource Office and the Affirmative Action Office.
Writer: Maggie Morris, (765) 494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu
Sources: Alysa Christmas Rollock, (765) 494-5830, acrollock@purdue.edu
Carolyn E. Johnson, (765) 494-7307, carolyn.e.johnson.1@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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