UNF appoints alumna Whitney Meyer as Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer

The University of North Florida announces the appointment of Whitney Meyer as the University’s Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer.

In Meyer’s new role, she will be responsible for advising University leadership on diversity, inclusion and racial equality pertaining to strategies and policies, learning and research, community relations and the recruitment, retention and admission of faculty, staff and students of color.

She will provide leadership, expertise, and vision for the University’s new coordinated model for diversity and inclusion, facilitate sharing of best practices and identify opportunities for greater alignment and more unified efforts across campus.

“This elevated position has been created to affirm UNF’s unreserved commitment to student success within a diverse and supportive campus culture,” said UNF President David Szymanski. “I am confident that Whitney will serve as an integral member of our leadership team with valuable input to help uphold the University’s core values of mutual respect and civility.”

This is a newly established vice president-level position for the University and is just one of the many new initiatives that UNF is taking to support diversity and inclusion on campus and throughout its community. Other programs will be implemented to help students, faculty and staff know that they are safe, accepted and valued.

UNF has received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) award for five years and is recognized as a Diversity Champion by INSIGHT into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.

Meyer, a Jacksonville native and Avondale resident, currently is working in the President’s Office managing key programs aimed at promoting diversity, including the Community Alliance for Student Success (CASS) program and the Fearless Woman initiative.

The CASS aims to ensure that underrepresented students have opportunities to become successful business and community leaders and the Fearless Woman initiative strives to empower and prepare UNF’s next generation of women leaders. Both the CASS and Fearless Woman programs bring traditionally separated groups of people together to promote a shared sense of pride and community for UNF and Jacksonville. She will continue to direct these programs in her new role as VP.

She will also oversee the Commission on Diversity and Inclusion, Department of Diversity Initiatives, LGBT Resource Center, and OneJax, and work with diversity and inclusion liaisons throughout the University to support inclusive excellence.

“I am so excited to begin in this new role that will help our University to grow as an institution that strongly values the input of diverse ideas,” said Meyer. “I hope to uplift underrepresented voices in our community and act as an agent of positive, united change.”

Meyer previously worked at UNF in various departments including the Military and Veterans Resource Center, Student Union Administration, Alumni Affairs and Public Relations. Before joining UNF, she created and managed new corporate partnerships in the Alumni Office at Georgia State University.

Currently, Meyer serves on the steering committee for the ACE Women’s Network and as marketing chair for the African American Faculty and Staff Association. She is part of the Jax Chamber's Hightower Fellowship program and a frequent volunteer for the Friends of Boone Park South.

Meyer is a proud UNF alumna with a Master of Science in Management from the UNF Coggin College of Business and a bachelor’s focusing on communication and international relations.