Office of the President Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Mission
To lead, advise, and catalyze programs, practices and policies designed to achieve and assess Stevens’ strategic priorities to attract and retain an outstanding community of faculty, staff and students from diverse backgrounds while cultivating a supportive, inclusive learning and working environment that contributes to a technologically proficient workforce representative of our society.
With a focus on faculty and staff professional development, we collaborate closely with academic and administrative leadership, Division of Human Resources, Division of Student Affairs, and the Office for Faculty Development.
Message from the President
The mission of Stevens Institute of Technology is "to inspire, nurture and educate leaders in tomorrow's technology-centric environment while contributing to the solution of the most challenging problems of our time." In the 150 years since our university's founding, there may never have been a time in our history when leaders and problem-solvers were needed more than today.
It is a privilege to learn and to work within the diverse and remarkable community that is Stevens, and we are enriched by the talents, contributions and engagement of each member. As we enjoy the benefits of diversity, we must also commit to promoting diversity on our campus. By renouncing injustice, demonstrating empathy and supporting each and every person regardless of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin and other characteristics, we will model this commitment. As a diverse university community, we also remain steadfastly committed to our values of academic freedom and nondiscrimination in all that we do.
Your engagement as students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends has contributed to our collective success as a University on the Rise. I look forward to the progress that we will make together.
Per aspera ad astra,
Nariman Farvardin
President
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Staff
Susan Metz is a long time member of the Stevens community serving as executive director of the Lore-El Center for Women in Engineering and Science and in 1990 launching WEPAN (Women in Engineering Proactive Network), a national organization catalyzing change in the academic climate for women in STEM fields. Under Susan’s leadership, both Stevens and WEPAN were recognized by the White House with the prestigious President’s Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. She has substantially contributed to the national STEM diversity policy agenda through participation on boards including the National Academy of Engineering Diversity Task Force, National Science Foundation Engineering Directorate and consultant to the National Academy of Engineering’s Center for Advancement of Scholarship in Engineering Education.
As PI or Co-PI on multi-institutional collaborative projects, Susan has secured nearly $10 million in grant funds and published or contributed to dozens of academic and scholarly papers, book chapters, conference proceedings and seminars on STEM diversity at the pre-college, college and workforce levels. She is a recipient of the Maria Mitchell Association’s Women in Science Award and is a Fellow of the Association for Women in Science.
Having attended nearly a dozen schools before graduating from high school and becoming a first-generation college student, Dr. Valerie Guerrero Williamson has held a lifelong interest in combating educational inequities across the United States. Valerie has spent more than 15 years facilitating equity-oriented organizational change in post-secondary institutions. She earned a BA in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz; an MEd in Student Affairs with a graduate certificate in social justice education from Iowa State University; and a Ph.D. from the University of Utah where she studied Educational Leadership and Policy and also earned a graduate certificate in gender studies from the School of Social Transformation. Whether related to research, practice, or teaching, Valerie has prioritized strategic, research-informed efforts to actualize equity for students, staff, and faculty. Broadly, her research focuses on higher education at the organizational level, including change models and their implementation, campus climates and cultures, cultivating critical praxis, and faculty development and socialization. Valerie has also developed and led hundreds of educational workshops focused on issues related to power, privilege, anti-racism, social justice, and social identities such as race, ability, class, gender, and sexual orientation. In her downtime, Valerie enjoys exploring trails with her family and their fluffy dog, trying delicious foods, and escaping into fictional worlds through media.
Zulejha Osmani Etemi joined the Office of the President team the summer of 2018. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Child Development from Texas Woman's University and her Master's degree in Higher Education Administration from the University of Louisville. Zulejha provides administrative support to the Executive Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as well as the Vice President of University Relations and Chief of Staff. She also assists with planning and executing various meetings, workshops, lectures and events aimed at raising awareness and promoting DEI at Stevens. In her spare time, Zulejha enjoys traveling, catching up on the latest movies and TV shows and cooking for her family.