Purdue Global names chief diversity officer
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Purdue University Global has hired Tiffany Townsend vice president of organizational culture and chief diversity officer. She previously held dual positions of chief diversity officer and associate professor of psychological sciences since 2019 at Augusta University. She established a comprehensive DEI training program that included a suite of diversity courses, in-person workshops and online training modules to ensure that all students, staff and faculty were exposed to fundamental DEI concepts and principles.
In this newly-created position, Townsend will guide and implement diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at both the institutional and department levels, while supporting and building systems of inclusion through policies, procedures, practices, customs and leadership. In addition, she will foster collaborative relationships within the Purdue University system to align strategies and initiatives.
As a clinician and scholar, Townsend has worked for more than two decades to ensure that all individuals, regardless of ethnicity, sex or socio-economic status, have access to the knowledge and resources necessary to facilitate healthy functioning and overall wellbeing.
Townsend also currently serves as president of the Georgia Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education and has been selected as a fellow with the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education.
Prior to Augusta University, Townsend was senior director of the Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs for the American Psychological Association from 2011-19. She previously held faculty positions at Georgetown University Medical School (2006-19) and Penn State University (1998-2006).
Townsend earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Spelman College. She earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from George Washington University. Her work has been featured in several journals, books and media outlets, including the Washingtonian, Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune.