Interim chief diversity officer named
Posted on: February 26, 2020; Updated on: February 26, 2020
By Jeff Stensland, stenslan@mailbox.sc.edu, 803-777-3686
Tracey L. Weldon, associate dean for diversity, interdisciplinary programs and social sciences in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, was named the University of South Carolina’s interim chief diversity officer.
Weldon will serve in the position through June, when the newly appointed vice president for diversity and inclusion Julian Williams begins in Columbia. Current chief diversity officer John Dozier announced earlier this month he would be heading up diversity and inclusion efforts at Massachusetts Institute of Technology beginning in March.
“Tracey is a respected faculty member and a leader in our campus’s diversity and inclusion efforts. We’re pleased that she’s agreed to serve in this important role,” says interim provost Tayloe Harding, who made the appointment.
As chief diversity officer, Weldon will be responsible for university-wide strategic diversity initiatives and advising senior leadership on issues related to diversity, inclusion, equity and cultural understanding.
Weldon is an associate professor in the English language and literature department and the linguistics program. She joined the university in 2000. Her research focuses on quantitative sociolinguistics, specializing in African American English and Gullah. She serves on the university’s Council of Academic Diversity Officers, the Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee, and is a former chair of the Black Faculty Caucus.
Weldon earned a bachelor’s degree from Furman University and a doctorate in linguistics from Ohio State University.
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