Molloy College in Rockville Centre appoints first vice president of diversity

Dr. Donald “DJ” Mitchell was appointed Molloy College’s first vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion, effective Feb. 1.

Mitchell comes to Molloy from Bellarmine University in Kentucky, where he has served as chief DEI officer since last year. In that role, he is the key adviser to the president and cabinet regarding university-wide diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, programs and policies.

At Molloy, Mitchell will report directly to President James Lentini, and will be a member of the president’s cabinet, the college’s senior leadership team.

“DJ Mitchell is the ideal choice to serve as Molloy’s inaugural vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion,” Lentini said, according to a school news release. “He has a proven track record in managing DEI issues — in collaboration with students, staff and faculty, as well as with external partners — to achieve that goal. Bellarmine is also a Catholic university, which shares the values and philosophy that drive Molloy. We look forward to the insight and strategic guidance that Dr. Mitchell will bring to this important position, which are directly linked to our mission statement and our values and guiding virtues.”

Mitchell joined Bellarmine University in August 2017 as a full professor of education. He was appointed chair for the M.Ed. in Higher Education Leadership and Social Justice Program in June 2018 and served in that role until this past August. Before joining Bellarmine’s Annsley Frazier Thornton School of Education in 2017, Mitchell was an assistant professor of higher education in the College of Education and faculty associate in the division of inclusion & equity at Grand Valley State University.

Since January 2019, Mitchell has co-chaired the president’s advisory board on equity and inclusion, which develops and reviews Bellarmine’s policies around hiring, training and bias reporting for students, faculty and staff. As chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, he serves as a member of the president’s cabinet, advising her on university-wide initiatives, programs and policies. He also develops and monitors key performance indicators that demonstrate the university’s progress in diversity, equity and inclusion.

In his role, Mitchell often draws on his research and scholarships that explore race, gender, identity intersections and intersectionality within higher education contexts. Publishing more than 50 scholarly works, Mitchell’s research and scholarship have received national recognition. He is the recipient of the Diverse: Issues in Higher Education’s 2020 Emerging Scholar recognition; the Ethnographic and Qualitative Research Conference’s 2016 McGraw Hill Distinguished Scholar Award; the American College Personnel Association’s 2015 Emerging Scholar Award; and the Multicultural/Multiethnic Education Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association’s 2014 Dr. Carlos J. Vallejo Memorial Award for Emerging Scholarship, among other honors and awards. 

Mitchell earned a Ph.D. in educational policy and administration with a concentration in higher education from the University of Minnesota — Twin Cities, a master’s degree in educational leadership from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Shaw University in North Carolina.

Mitchell is married to Dr. Jakia Marie, assistant professor of sociology, and they have a son, Donald “Tre” Mitchell, III.

Courtesy Molloy College; compiled by Mike Smollins