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Get the most interesting and important stories from the University of Pittsburgh.The University is drafting a winning team to lead the charge for Pitt's inclusion initiatives. The latest addition is Randi Congleton, the new assistant vice chancellor in the Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (OEDI).
She came to Pitt in November 2021 from Chatham University, where she was the vice president for equity and inclusion and chief diversity officer. Though Congleton brings more than 15 years of professional experience in higher education to Pitt, she says her personal experiences are what truly drive her work.
"Being a first-generation student, a Black woman, a student-parent and working with equity professionals that guided me through academic milestones enables me to empathize with students," she said. "It helps me think about the things they're navigating that we, as institutions, sometimes may not recognize or consider."
Born and raised in Philadelphia and educated within its public school system, Congleton benefited from federally funded services for first-generation, low-income college students, such as the equal opportunity program that enabled her to obtain a Bachelor of Science in agricultural and extension education from The Pennsylvania State University.
Her mentors there inspired her future career path.
"Penn State equity professionals drove me to Pittsburgh and helped me secure housing when I had an internship in 2002 with Allegheny County Cooperative Extension with Urban 4-H," said Congleton. "Those same equity professionals encouraged my participation in the Summer Research Opportunities Programs, which opened my eyes to getting a PhD."
She went on to earn a master's in community services from Michigan State University and her PhD in education and organizational leadership from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The kindness she received from mentors helped her to frame her understanding of education as a second chance, she said. She plans to pay it forward.
"My primary responsibilities at Pitt include supporting the chief diversity officer with setting the campus equity and inclusion agenda, which includes equitable hiring practices, supporting our institutional equity managers and working with diversity officers from around campus," said Congleton.
[Meet Pitt’s chief diversity officer, Clyde Pickett.]
Already, her team, in collaboration with the Office of Human Resources, is working to develop manuals focused on equitable hiring practices and a program that will aid hiring committees in the search for diverse candidates.
"I'm excited to pursue and think about how we can strengthen our hiring practices across the University," she said.
Her job also includes identifying and tackling factors that prohibit students from thriving.
"My work has been about how we support students who are often in the margins and help them to matriculate and thrive in spaces that, foundationally and historically, aren't set up for their success," she said.
To effectively champion everyone across the University, virtually and in person, Congleton noted it would be a community effort.
"While lived experience is critical, having knowledge, training and the mindset to ask who's not at the table is also critical," she said.
"I'm just one Black woman with a set of lived experiences. I'm also cisgender, heterosexual and have three degrees. So, when we talk about championing everyone, we must recognize that we bring our backgrounds and complexities to the table. I have identities that experience oppression and oppressive systems and identities that benefit from systems of oppression. Everyone has to continue to do the work to be effective in enacting change and not being complicit."
Effective change means hearing all voices. For Congleton and team, that includes listening to the University's employee resource groups.
"We want to hear them out and understand where gaps in support may exist," said Congleton, who in less than three months has already sat down with the Hispanic, queer and Muslim employee resource groups. "It's a strong way to build community."
Congleton is the first OEDI assistant vice chancellor, which bears unique challenges. However, the 2019 New Pittsburgh Courier's Woman of Excellence takes it all in stride.
"I'm thinking of how to craft this position to support the vision of our vice chancellor, pursue ongoing consultations with our diversity officers and provide units and departments with the resources they need to forward their own equity goals," she said. "New roles are both challenging and rewarding, but I am giving myself grace to learn a new institutional culture while moving initiatives forward. Fortunately, I’m working with a highly talented team while I figure all this out, and that's exciting."