I am happy to announce that Ainsley Thomas has been named the Chief Diversity Officer at Hudson Valley Community College. His first day at the college was Monday, Jan. 30.
Ainsley comes to the college from Albany County, where he has served as Director of Affirmative Action since 2013 and oversaw the county-wide development, implementation and monitoring of anti-discrimination, equal employment opportunity, sexual harassment and ADA compliance policies.
Ainsley’s duties on campus will be similar to his position at the county. He will oversee the college’s efforts to help diversify its workforce and its student body through recruitment and retention. He also will be charged with helping to build and maintain programs and policies to support diversity, combat harassment and discrimination. This is a newly created position at the college that reports directly to me. The creation of the new position complies with a directive from the SUNY Board of Trustees that each campus has a Chief Diversity Officer.
Earlier in his career, he was employed in state government, working as a legislative analyst for the New York State Senate Majority Office, where he focused on higher education issues. He also was a certified teacher and taught social studies for seven years at Albany High School and Bishop Maginn High School.
Ainsley is a graduate of LeMoyne College, where he received his bachelor’s degree in political science. He received his M.A. in political science and education from the University at Albany. He serves on the advisory board for the Capital District Educational Opportunity Center and is a board member of the Independent Judicial Election Qualification Commission, a statewide network of independent screening panels for judicial candidates.
Published: Thu, 02 Feb 2017 13:00:39 +0000 by a.matonak