The CLAS Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion comprises eleven voting members:  five representatives selected by the CLAS Faculty Assembly, including at least one instructional-track faculty member and one tenure-track faculty member; two representatives selected by the CLAS Staff Council; and four members appointed by the CLAS Dean’s Office, including one faculty member (instructional-track, clinical-track, or tenure-track), one undergraduate student, one graduate student, and an associate director from CLAS Academic Programs and Student Development. Dr. Liz Mendez-Shannon chairs the committee and serves as an ex-officio non-voting member.

The committee meets on a monthly basis during the academic year and, once a year, provides a report to the Dean and the Faculty Assembly about the state of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the College.

We welcome ideas, questions, and feedback from all of our students, faculty, and staff.

Please contact us at CLAS-DEI@uiowa.edu. One of our committee members will reply.

Current committee

NameRank/titleDepartmentTerm end date
Caroline ClayAssistant ProfessorTheatre ArtsSpring 2025
Jose FernandezAssistant ProfessorLatina/o/x StudiesSpring 2025
Becky GonzalezAssistant ProfessorSpanish and PortugueseSpring 2024
Kira LouvarUndergraduate StudentSchool of Social WorkSpring 2024
Aleah HeimsDean's Office Assistant N/A
Liz Mendez-ShannonDEI Director Ex Officio
Emily MozenaAssociate Professor of InstructionHealth and Human PhysiologySpring 2025
Jane NachtmanProfessorPhysics and AstronomySpring 2024
Dylan NiceLecturerRhetoricSpring 2025
Andy OwensAssociate Professor of InstructionCinematic ArtsSpring 2026
Scott ShawAssociate ProfessorChemistrySpring 2025
Sujatha SosaleAssociate ProfessorJournalism and Mass CommunicationSpring 2026
Kendra StrandAssistant ProfessorAsian and Slavic Languages and LiteraturesSpring 2025
Eric VázquezAssistant Professor
  • American Studies
  • Latina/o/x Studies
Spring 2025
Elizabeth WalkerAssociate ProfessorCommunication Sciences and DisordersSpring 2025
Osamamen Oba EduviereGraduate StudentReligious StudiesSpring 2025
Mallory Hellman Staff CouncilSpring 2025
Ali Romano-McClain Staff CouncilSpring 2026
Mark Fullenkamp Staff CouncilSpring 2024