Permanent Leadership Associate Vice President - Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Campus Diversity Officer

May 5, 2023

It is with great pleasure that I announce that Dr. Rosamel Benavides-Garb has been appointed permanent Associate Vice President (AVP) for the Office of Diversity Equity & Inclusion (ODEI) and Campus Diversity Officer at Cal Poly Humboldt. Rosamel has been serving successfully in this role in an interim capacity since August 2, 2022. I am excited about the positive impact that he is already making in this position. 

This past year, Dr. Benavides-Garb has collaborated with colleagues across campus and within the community to lead 14 ODEI-driven projects and initiatives, sponsor 17, and collaborate on an additional 15 with overall engagement in 46 projects and initiatives. Some examples of this work include convening a team and receiving training toward earning the Seal of Excelencia, holding BIPOC faculty and staff affinity circles, facilitating the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Grant Program, providing leadership and collaboration with the Humboldt Equity Consortium, and Equity Arcata.

Dr. Benavides-Garb has led a reimagining of the ODEI office as an agent of change defining its work as “the university’s leading administrative program in building bridges of caring, engaging critical social consciousness, and elevating all community members’ sense of belonging, success, and wellbeing in service of dismantling structurally oppressive policies and practices, and support the development of equitable policies and practices. Through compassionate listening and intentional cross-campus and community collaboration, we strive to transform relationships to shape the Humboldt of the future.”

Dr. Benavides-Garb has been at Cal Poly Humboldt since 1991 and has developed strong and lasting relationships within the campus and in the community. Dr. Benavides-Garb has extensive administrative and faculty experience serving as professor and chair for World Languages & Cultures, Associate Dean in the College of Arts Humanities & Social Sciences (CAHSS), and Interim Dean of CAHSS. Dr. Benavides-Garb has a comprehensive international background in administration and development of international programs in four continents. He began his undergraduate studies at the Universidad de Chile in Santiago, Chile, and completed his master and doctoral studies at the University of Oregon in Eugene. He received his doctorate degree in Romance Languages.

Dr. Benavides-Garb is an immigrant like many Humboldt students or their families. He learned English as a second language as an adult learner. He humbly sees himself in the eyes of Humboldt Latinx students, their parents, and families. He has a shared experience with them of hard work and commitment to advancement and success.

As a first-generation university graduate, Dr. Benavides-Garb can also relate to the larger populations of Humboldt students who are forging new pathways where previously there were none. He is convinced that education remains one of the most powerful experiences for social mobility in America, but also the most poignant journey of enlightenment, intellectual growth, and spiritual development.

“I am honored to serve the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion as the next AVP at this critical juncture for Cal Poly Humboldt,” Dr. Benavides-Garb says. “ODEI will continue to play a key service role for our entire campus community and our community at large by realizing significant structural transformation, guided always by the theory and practices of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. I look forward to continuing to facilitate deep transformative processes to meet our institutional goals and work toward social justice within our community.”

Dr. Benavides-Garb’s approach to leadership is collaborative, patient, intentional, and strength-based. He approaches everything he has done for Cal Poly Humboldt with deep care and concern for what is best for our students, employees, and community and I feel fortunate to have him as a leader on our campus. Please help me in extending congratulations to him. 

Sincerely,

Dr. Jenn Capps
Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs

 

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