NEOMED has hired Carolyn Lanier as the University’s new chief of staff and vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion. Lanier starts March 7, 2016.
Lanier will fill the void soon to be left by her predecessor, Sergio Garcia. Garcia recently accepted the position of vice president and chief of staff of the St. Lawrence Health System and Canton-Potsdam Hospital (CPH) in upstate New York. In his new role, Sergio will advise, support and manage the administrative affairs of the St. Lawrence Health System and Canton-Potsdam Hospital including all governance and governmental initiatives.
Lanier hails from Western Connecticut State University, where as chief diversity officer and associate vice president she led the development and management of a comprehensive strategic program that fostered diversity values and human rights regulations.
As NEOMED’s chief of staff and vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion, Lanier’s dual role includes chief of staff responsibilities of providing leadership and management of presidential initiatives, special projects, and strategic planning; advising and representing the president in internal and external interactions with faculty, staff, alumni and community leaders; and managing partnerships including universities, hospitals and other external constituents.
As vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion, Lanier will lead and collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to implement the University Diversity Strategic Plan in addition to collaborating with departments University-wide to identify opportunities and barriers to the University’s efforts to recruit and retain a diverse community of successful students, faculty and staff. Lanier will lead and support diversity-building programs across campus while working with academic and administrative leaders to develop external community partnerships and global connections that serve institutional diversity goals.
Lanier’s 20 plus years of experience include eight years as human resources manager at the Seattle and King County Department of Public Health and a year spent in war torn eastern Africa where she served with Global Ministries, managing refugee relief efforts after the civil war in Rwanda.
A graduate of the University of Michigan (B.A., Psychology) and Seattle University (M.P.A.), Lanier spent her early childhood years in Cleveland while her dad earned his doctorate at Case Western Reserve University.