Appointment of Dr. Vicki T. Sapp as Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer announced by President Stephen H. Kolison Jr.

I am excited to announce the appointment of Dr. Vicki T. Sapp as SUNY Fredonia’s new Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer (CDEIO), effective July 15, 2021.  Dr. Sapp will be a member of the President’s Cabinet.

Dr. Sapp is a highly qualified and sought-after individual in the work relating to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.  Her extensive background in these areas as well as her experience as a faculty member made her a compelling choice.  She is familiar with the SUNY System and early in her career, she served as a Residence Hall Director at SUNY Fredonia.  She will join the university well equipped to listen, assess, and act.

Dr. Sapp is coming to Fredonia from the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where she is Director of Student Engagement, Diversity and Inclusion, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Education.  She is an accomplished administrator, researcher and service provider.  Her scholarship focuses on several topics including making the inVISIBLE visible, first-generation and student of color populations, college access, retention and success, social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Since my arrival here in August 2020, I have had the distinct pleasure of working with Dr. Saundra Liggins in her role as Fredonia’s Interim Director of Diversity.  I would like to offer my sincere thanks and appreciation to her for the remarkable work she has done with a true commitment to the university.  I enjoyed working with her and benefited from her insights about the campus climate.  Dr. Liggins will resume her full-time position as Associate Professor in the Department of English.

I also want to thank all the members of the Search Committee led by Vice President Michael Metzger for an outstanding job. They were able to navigate all the COVID-19 restrictions and brought us highly qualified individuals for consideration.  They completed their work in a timely manner notwithstanding the challenges that were presented by the pandemic.  

To the entire campus community, thank you for your interest and participation in the search process.

About Dr. Vicki T. Sapp

Dr. Vicki T. Sapp has over 20 years of experience in higher education and 15 have been directly focused on inclusion, diversity, equity, access, and social justice.  She earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a master’s degree in Student Personnel Administration from SUNY Buffalo State College, and her Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership and Policy from the University of Rochester (N.Y.).  

Dr. Sapp has taught at the University of Rochester, Canisius College, the University of Buffalo, and SUNY Cortland.  She also served as the Assistant Director of Housing Services at Capstone on Campus Management (COCM) in College Park, Maryland. Other career appointments include Director of Community and Organizational Development at the University of Rhode Island, Assistant Director of the Office of Residential Life and Housing Services at the University of Rochester, Associate Director of the Intercultural and Diversity Center at the University at Buffalo and Coordinator for Multicultural Affairs at SUNY Cortland. 

Dr. Sapp is responsible for bringing the Safe Zone (LGBTQA+) project to Geisinger Commonwealth.  Additionally, she trained, coordinated, and was responsible for the design and continuous enhancement of the Professional Identity Formation Cultural Humility Curriculum.  She is certified as a Title IX Resources Advisor, Emotional Intelligent Coach, Green Dot Sexual Assault Bystander Intervene Trainer, Mental Health First Aid Trainer and Cook Ross Implicit Bias Trainer.  She recently completed the University of South Florida Diversity Certificate.

In addition, Dr. Sapp has served as a member on several boards including: the Geisinger Diversity and Inclusion Council, Black Scranton Project Center for Arts and Culture, Northeastern Pennsylvania Diversity Education Consortium (NEPDEC), and NEPA Rainbow Alliance.  She is also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

I am very pleased that Dr. Sapp will be joining SUNY Fredonia in this very important role as CDEIO.  Please join me in congratulating Vicki and welcoming her to SUNY Fredonia at Vicki.Sapp@fredonia.edu