The University of Missouri’s Vice Chancellor for Inclusion, Diversity and Equity will be stepping down in July. Dr. Kevin McDonald has accepted a new position at the University of Virginia. He will be leaving MU after three years in his position.
In a letter to the MU campus community, Chancellor Alexander Cartwright said, “Dr. McDonald and his team have been instrumental in committing resources and sharing best practices to help us increase our diversity pool among faculty, staff, students and administrative searches across campus.”
In his time at the university, McDonald established the Inclusive Excellence Framework, which outlines goals and strategies to improve diversity and inclusion at MU.
MU spokesperson Christian Basi said McDonald’s work has been embraced off campus as well.
“This is a great example of what we talk about when we say the University does not operate in a vacuum. We impact our community every day of the week, and Kevin specifically, he has brought in this framework which made a significant amount of difference on the campus and in the Columbia community,” Basi said.
In the next few weeks, the university will identify an interim vice chancellor to fill the position who will work with Dr. McDonald to transition into the role this summer.
This fall, university officials plan to establish a search committee to look for the permanent vice chancellor.