Inclusive Excellence directory

Dean's Fellows

Irvin Hunt

Irvin Hunt is a Dean’s Fellow in Inclusive Excellence, with a focus on tenure and promotion across the college. Last year he received several recognitions for his scholarship and teaching. Dr. Hunt facilitates equitable practices around the promotion and tenure of the faculty of the college. He organizes and delivers inclusive excellence workshops for the departments and for the college, especially the Provost’s “DEI in PT” and “LAS-DRIVE Inclusive Search Process.” He leads the development and assessment of programs, trainings, and workshops for the college and its departments. He collaborates with the college and its departments to identify areas of need around the training of staff and faculty. To support his work, he attends train-the-trainer sessions and other DEI professional development opportunities. Finally, to promote collaboration in these areas across the college, he consults with other DEI-related projects where needed and helpful. His philosophy across his work is one of careful listening and inclusive communication.

Mariselle Meléndez

As LAS Dean’s Fellow for Faculty Development, Dr. Meléndez will be assisting in the college’s efforts to provide faculty members effective assessment and mentoring to benefit their career advancement and engagement within the university. With that goal in mind, Dr. Meléndez will be working within the next year on the following initiatives: (1) Develop a policy guide for best practices in annual evaluation of tenure track faculty that addresses performance across the university’s missions of research, teaching, and service, and that considers public engagement as an activity that may encompass all three missions, in light of the changes to Communication 9 on this topic; (2) Assist in implementing the associate professor mentoring program as developed in Spring 2021 by the Associate Professor Mentoring Committee; and (3) Assist departments in implementing mentoring plans (suitable to their specific faculty demographics and interdisciplinary expectations) that are consistent with the guidelines laid out in Provost Communication 21.

Trina Wright-Dixon

Trina J. Wright-Dixon is a Dean’s Fellow in Inclusive Excellence facilitating the Inclusive Pedagogy Certificate Program. This 14-week program engages in online and in-person experiential learning to teach faculty and instructors practical tools for designing and teaching courses geared towards diverse populations of undergraduate and graduate students. Wright-Dixon is also a professor in the Department of Communication.