Vice President for Student Affairs and Campus Diversity Selected
SDSU Chief Diversity Officer J. Luke Wood has been selected for the role, and will lead a division uniting Diversity and Innovation with Student Affairs.
“Wood is an empathetic leader, a bridge builder, a well-published scholar and a both a leader and needed advocate for diversity and inclusion for all.”
San Diego State University Chief Diversity Officer J. Luke Wood, the Dean’s Distinguished Professor of Education in the College of Education, has been selected to serve as Vice President for Student Affairs and Campus Diversity. Wood will begin transitioning into the position effective May 26, 2020 and assume full duties for the newly combined division on June 15, 2020.
SDSU President Adela de la Torre announced Wood’s appointment in a campus notice, indicating that Wood will oversee the newly formed Division of Student Affairs and Campus Diversity, which unites the Division of Diversity and Innovation and the Division of Student Affairs.
Reporting to de la Torre, Wood will serve as the Chief Student Affairs Officer and Chief Diversity Officer, and will continue to serve as a member of SDSU’s senior leadership team.
“Wood is an empathetic leader, a bridge builder, a well-published scholar and a both a leader and needed advocate for diversity and inclusion for all,” de la Torre said. “I am confident that Luke is the best leader to serve as Vice President for Student Affairs and Campus Diversity and ask that you join me in congratulating him on his new role.”
Wood, who co-chaired the Strategic Planning Committee, and will work closely with diverse individuals and constituencies across the university, to include Provost Salvador Hector Ochoa, deans and other vice presidents, and the California State University system. Among his primary goals will be to ensure coordination and integration of academic programs, campus diversity and both inclusive and equity initiatives.
“I specifically chose SDSU nearly a decade ago because of its high quality student experience, the strong faculty research and its commitment to equity and inclusion. These years at SDSU have been incredibly fulfilling and rewarding,” Wood said.
“A community and culture that is not only welcoming but that understands and advances diversity and equity initiatives is one of great promise,” he said. “It is our responsibility, always, to celebrate our uniqueness and to create a world in which people are able to meaningfully connect and contribute — this is my personal and professional objective.”
The Vice President will be responsible for building on the inclusive excellence of the University, monitoring and maintaining campus climate, ensuring the highest-quality student experience, supporting a diverse faculty community across all disciplines, and enhancing diversity within the pathways through higher education for all students, faculty and staff.
Leading the combined divisions, Wood will oversee 350 faculty and staff employees responsible for creating and managing efficient and effective structures that successfully deliver on all functions, programs, and activities focused on student services and engagement, as well as diversity and inclusion efforts for students, faculty, and staff.
Wood joined SDSU in 2011 as co-director — a position he still holds — of the Community College Equity Assessment Lab (CCEAL), a national research and practice center partnering with community colleges to support their capacity in advancing outcomes for underserved students of color.
Prior to SDSU, Luke directed the Joint Ph.D. program in Education between SDSU and Claremont Graduate University, and served as director of the Ed.D. Program in Community College Leadership.
To date, Wood has more than 150 publications, including 15 books and 70 peer-reviewed journal articles. Wood earned a Bachelor of Arts in Black History and Politics and also a master's degree in higher education (student affairs) from the California State University, Sacramento, later earning a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction (early childhood education) and also a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies from Arizona State University.
“Wood is strongly positioned to honor and empower the histories, legacy, growth and strength of the two divisions now held under a single unit,” de la Torre said. “I am very grateful that he is now in this permanent role and look forward to continuing work that will strongly support our student success, promote an atmosphere of inclusiveness, and strengthen our already diverse community.”
