Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Historical Timeline
2022
Phase One (Building a Culture of Respect) of the Campus Climate Action Plan is completed and Phase Two (Cultivating Strong and Collaborative Relationships) begins.
2021
Carmen Johnson becomes Stetson's Executive Officer for Diversity, Inclusion, and Collaboration.
Values Day 2021 is based around the theme Building a Culture of Respect and Empathy.
2020
President Christopher Roellke creates a high-level president’s advisory council on diversity and inclusion.
The President’s Cabinet members define diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments for their units.
Diversity and inclusion becomes a key strategic priority for the University and the Board of Trustees.
2019
Michele Alexandre is appointed the first Black dean of the College of Law.
Maureen Breakiron-Evans (class of 1976) becomes the first female chair of the Board of Trustees.
2018
Daniel Mejia is the first Hispanic SGA president.
2017
Hillel comes to Stetson and Sam Friedman is chosen as the first Hillel director.
2016
Prelaw ranks Stetson College of Law as one of the nation's most diverse law schools.
2015
The Community Education Project begins as a reading group for those incarcerated at the Tomoka Correctional Institution and grows into a non-profit multidisciplinary college-in-prison program.
WORLD: International Learning is endowed by the Rinker family.
2009
Wendy Libby is selected as the first woman, first non-Baptist President of Stetson University.
2004
James Scheiner is appointed Dean of the School of Business Administration, becoming the first dean of the Jewish faith.
Harlan Paul becomes the first Jewish Board of Trustees member.
2003
Michael Davis is elected the first Black president of the Student Government Association. Davis would become a Stetson University trustee in 2018.
1999
The University mission statement is revised to emphasize six values, including being a diverse and inclusive community.
The Cross Cultural Center is established to foster a diverse community.
1998
Luz E. Nagle becomes the first female Hispanic professor hired at the College of Law. In 2004, Nagle would become the first Hispanic College of Law faculty member to earn tenure.
Board of Trustees approves a Commitment to Diversity Plan.
1997
The ALANA (Asian, Latino, African-American, Native American) Council is formed to identify issues and create solutions that foster an inclusive campus community that values diversity.
1995
Stetson and the Florida Baptist Convention sever formal ties. Religious diversity and inclusiveness are reaffirmed as University priorities.
1994
The Stetson University Catalog is revised to include sexual orientation in its non-discrimination clause.
Lizabeth "Liz" A. Moody is appointed the first female dean and first female Vice President of the College of Law.
1993
Stetson initiates gender equity in Athletics.
1992
Thomas E. Stringer, Sr. ('74, College of Law) is the first Black member of the Board of Trustees, elected Secretary of the Board
Manual Ramos is the first Hispanic professor hired by the College of Law.
1991
Stetson establishes the Multicultural Educational Institute to help foster multicultural and diversity education that enhances harmony, understanding, and positive cross-cultural communication.
1990
Dorothea Beane becomes the first Black professor hired by the College of Law. In 1995, Beane would be the first Black professor at the College of Law to earn tenure.
1989
Leonard Nance is the second Black faculty member hired at the DeLand campus, and the first Black professor to spend his career at Stetson. Nance would become Dean of First Year Studies in 2005, the first Black dean at Stetson.
1987
President H. Douglas Lee announces Stetson’s commitment to be a diverse and inclusive community.
1981
Jim Shore is the first Native American (from the Seminole Brighton Reservation) to graduate from the College of Law.
1980
Sally Ginsberg Waters becomes the first Jewish law librarian at the College of Law.
1976
Nansi Carroll is the first Black faculty member hired at the DeLand campus. Carroll was a voice and opera instructor in the School of Music.
1975
Ruth Fleet Thurman ('63, College of Law) becomes the first female tenured professor at the College of Law.
1974
Thomas Stringer is the first Black graduate of the College of Law. Elizabeth Leeman becomes the first full-time female law professor.
1968
Student Marva Dawkins ('71) is appointed as the first Black dormitory counselor.
1965
Billy Cypress, a member of the Seminole Tribe, is the first Native American to graduate from Stetson, and is the first Seminole in the state of Florida to receive a commission as a U.S. Army officer.
1962
Cornelius "Neil" Hunter and Herdie Baisden are admitted as Stetson’s first Black students. Hunter would be the first Black graduate in 1966.
1913
Elizabeth Stetson, Countess of Santa Eulalia, and widow of John B. Stetson, becomes the first female member of the John B. Stetson University Board of Trustees.
1908
Mary Stewart is Stetson’s first female Law School graduate and the first woman to earn a law degree in Florida.
1905
Stetson’s Law School becomes the first law school in Florida to admit women.
1893
The first graduate of John B. Stetson University is a female student, Leila M. Child.
1883
DeLand Academy, the preparatory school that would become Stetson University, opens with both male and female students.