Ariana Wright Arnold to lead Office of Equity and Inclusion

Wed, 18 Dec 2019 10:31:54 -0500

I am pleased to announce that Ariana Wright Arnold will join our UMBC community as Director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion effective January 13, 2020.

Ms. Arnold will direct the newly established Office of Equity and Inclusion in the President’s Office. She will be responsible for promoting and coordinating the University's core values of inclusive excellence and equity, and will have primary responsibility for UMBC’s efforts related to Title IX and civil rights issues.

Ms. Arnold joins UMBC after serving as Senior Associate General Counsel at Howard University, where she provided advice, counsel, and representation of the university and hospital in local and federal courts and handled complaints filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, U.S. Department of Education, and other agencies. She also served the university as the Interim Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. She was previously a partner at Jackson Lewis P.C. in Baltimore and an Assistant United States Attorney, where she received the U.S. Attorney's Award for Excellence in Civil Advocacy in 2007. She earned her J.D. from Stanford Law School in 1994 and her B.A. in economics from Haverford College, where she minored in Spanish. She lives in Ellicott City, is a former member of the Board of Trustees of Sandy Spring Friends School, and volunteers for the Warm Welcome Shelter of Howard County.

The search committee and I were particularly impressed by Ms. Arnold’s committment to advocacy and care for her clients, whether they are insitutions or individuals, and her understanding of the complex legal and compliance issues faced by institutions confronting discrimination and tackling social justice in their communities. Ms. Arnold shared, "I am excited to work with students, faculty, and staff to fulfill UMBC's mission to achieve a diverse and inclusive community, and plan to continue the progress made in the last year through responsiveness, engagement, enrichment, and education.” I am excited to have Ms. Arnold as a partner as we continue UMBC’s efforts to improve our response to inequity and discrimination and build a more just community.

I would like to thank the members of the search committee who selected Ms. Arnold:

Valerie Thomas, Associate Vice President, Human Resources, Search Committee Chair;

Katharine Cole, Vice Provost and Dean, Undergraduate Academic Affairs;

Vrinda Deshpande, President, Student Government Association;

David Gleason, General Counsel, President's Office;

Adam Harvey, Ph.D. Candidate, Physics;

Kevin Joseph, Senior Director, Business Intelligence, Division of Information Technology;

Jasmine Lee, Director, Inclusive Excellence, Division of Student Affairs;

Carole McCann, Professor and Chair, Gender and Women's Studies;

Tawny McManus, Assistant Vice Provost for Accessibility, Student Disability Services;

Kimberly Moffitt, Associate Professor and Director, Language, Literacy, and Culture;

Kevin Omland, Professor, Biological Sciences; and

Shelly Wiechelt, Associate Professor, Social Work.

Please help me welcome Ariana to our community in the new year.

Candace Dodson-Reed '96, Chief of Staff, Executive Director, Office of Equity and Inclusion, Office of the President