People and Events
Cheryl Burgan Evans is University of Virginia's new Graduate Diversity Director
By
Apr 21, 2006, 13:46

University of Virginia has announced that Cheryl Burgan Evans will join the office of the vice president for research and graduate studies as its new director of graduate student diversity programs. Evans will oversee activities to enhance recruitment, retention, and mentoring of graduate students from under represented groups in doctoral programs. Her official start date will be June 25.

Additionally, Evans will be responsible for developing ties between U Va., historically Black colleges and universities, and other minority institutions. These efforts will be crucial in the university's attempts to increase the diversity of its graduate students and improve its standing among national universities, according to Ariel Gomez, vice president for research and graduate Studies at University of Virginia. 
 
A dedicated advocate for graduate student research, especially among students of color, Evans holds a doctorate from Ohio State University and has been a long-time faculty member and administrator at the Miami University of Ohio. At Miami, Evans worked with admissions, financial aid, and multicultural affairs to promote diversity within the student population, particularly graduate students.

Evans served as the campus coordinator of the Student Achievement in Research and Scholarship (STARS) program, a statewide program in Ohio that encourages undergraduate students from underrepresented ethnicities to attend graduate school and pursue careers in higher education. In 2004, a conference focusing on multicultural graduate student research was named in Evans' honor.
 
She also serves on the Board of Women of Color Research Collective, a national organization that promotes professional, scholarly, educational, and cultural advancement of women of color in higher education.