Message from Provost Blouin and Vice Chancellor Washington on G. Rumay Alexander

Dear Carolina Community,

We are writing to let you know that Chief Diversity Officer and Associate Vice Chancellor G. Rumay Alexander has announced that she will depart her administrative post at the end of this academic year to dedicate herself more fully to her academic career and her service as president of the National League for Nursing, which is the premier and oldest organization for nurse educators. The organization represents 40,000 individual and 1,200 institutional members from nursing education programs across higher education and health care. Rumay will resume her faculty appointment as full clinical professor in the School of Nursing, where she will remain committed to ensuring the future of nursing education and continue her work in diversity and inclusion. We are grateful for Rumay’s work in leading the University Office for Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) and wish her the best in these endeavors.

Since 2015, Rumay’s service to the University has included appointments as special assistant to the chancellor, interim chief diversity officer, and most recently, chief diversity officer and associate vice chancellor. In these posts, she helped launch the newly rebranded University Office for Diversity and Inclusion, bringing additional focus to key campus initiatives, such as the Carolina Conversation series and the annual THINKposium event. She was also instrumental in bringing renowned speakers such as former NAACP President Ben Jealous and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch to campus and was at the helm during the University’s successive recognitions of the INSIGHT Into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award presented to colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Rumay joined the School of Nursing in 2003 and has held a variety of leadership positions, both within and outside of the school. In addition to serving on the faculty, she was director of the School of Nursing’s Office of Inclusive Excellence, and provided leadership and resources for the Gillings School of Global Public Health and the Adams School of Dentistry. She also taught a multi-session training program at Faculty Council meetings and continues to lead the Faculty Governance Committee on Community and Diversity.

As we celebrate Rumay’s accomplishments and wish her well in her transition, we will also take the time to evaluate our diversity and inclusion efforts on campus and engage our community in assessing how to best position the University and D&I to meet future needs. Ultimately, we will launch a national search for this role. Fostering a diverse and inclusive community is paramount to ensuring that all members of our community are able to do their best work in support of our core mission of teaching, learning and research. Gretchen Bellamy, senior director for education and outreach, will serve as the primary contact for D&I and Vice Chancellor Felicia Washington will oversee D&I as part of her overall responsibilities.

Please join us in thanking Rumay for her leadership and her continued service to Carolina.

Sincerely,

Robert A. Blouin
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost

Felicia A. Washington
Vice Chancellor for Workforce Strategy, Equity and Engagement