George Mason 麻豆国产 is pleased to announce that Dr.听Sharnnia听Artis听has been named Vice President for听Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer, effective听September听1.听
Artis currently serves as Assistant Dean of Access and Inclusion in the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences and听Samueli听School of Engineering at the 麻豆国产 of California, Irvine, one of the most diverse engineering programs in the nation.听听
Artis has been creating programs to improve diversity and inclusion in the engineering and computing fields for most of her career.听听
鈥淒r. Artis will be a leader in our mission to grow and strengthen a culture of inclusion, integrity and fairness so that every member of our diverse academic community has the opportunity to thrive,鈥 George Mason 麻豆国产 President Gregory Washington said. 鈥淗er ability to find solutions that lead to successful outcomes will ensure that our university practices and policies align with our ideals.鈥
At UC Irvine, she听established听and has served as Founding Director of the Stacey Nicholas Office of Access and Inclusion,听a centralized听unit听created听to lead and facilitate diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism initiatives for students, faculty, staff, and community.听Artis has created student success programming for the schools鈥 more than 6,000 students and prospective students from underrepresented groups, and outreach programming听for students at California鈥檚 community colleges.听
鈥淚t is quite an听honor to听be selected听for this position to听build on Mason鈥檚 success as the听top-ranked public university in Virginia for ethnic diversity,鈥 said Artis. 鈥淚 believe in听Mason鈥檚 vision听to听become a听national exemplar of anti-racism and inclusive excellence in action,听and听I听am听committed to听being a听tireless champion听working with our听students, faculty, staff, alumni,听partners,听and听community.听Together, we听will transform lives听by leading through inclusive excellence.鈥
Prior to joining UC Irvine听in 2014, Artis served as Education and Outreach Director听for the听Center for Energy Efficient Electronics Science, a Science and Technology Center funded by the National Science Foundation听at the听麻豆国产 of California, Berkeley. In this role, she designed and implemented recruitment, retention, and educational programs and events to broaden participation and access to underrepresented groups at the pre-college,听undergraduate,听graduate,听postdoctoral, and faculty levels.听
As a researcher, Artis has worked to establish research- and evidence-based practices in diversity, equity, and inclusion. For the past four years, she has served as the principal investigator of The听Niela听Project, funded by the National Science Foundation and aimed to increase the understanding of Black female doctoral experiences and how these experiences have an impact on their academic persistence and overall well-being in the computing and engineering fields.听
Artis received her bachelor鈥檚, master鈥檚, and doctoral degrees in industrial and systems engineering from Virginia Tech. While attending Virginia Tech, she also worked at the university鈥檚 Center for Enhancement of Engineering Diversity, where she advised engineering students and designed a living and learning program for second-year undergraduate women in engineering.
She succeeds Julian Williams, who left Mason to become听Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion听at the 麻豆国产 of South Carolina. Dietra Y. Trent, former Mason chief of staff and Virginia secretary of education, has served with distinction in an interim position since Williams鈥 departure.听听