Georgina Dodge - New Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion

The University of Maryland named Georgina Dodge the new Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion on March 25, 2019. Dodge previously worked in a similar position at three universities, including Bucknell University, University of Iowa and Ohio State University. (Megan Sayles/The Black Explosion)

When Georgina Dodge graduated from high school, she didn’t think she would be a college graduate and certainly did not see herself receiving a doctorate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. 

Dodge, University of Maryland’s new Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion, was a first-generation college student.

“College was never on my radar,” she said. Her parents, who did not have any experience with higher education, just wanted Dodge to find a good job– and she did. She enlisted in the Navy and served for six years. 

It was while stationed in Japan that she realized she did not just want a good job, she wanted a college education. There, she took an English writing class, coincidentally with the University of Maryland University College, and after her success in the class, her instructor told her she should consider higher education. 

Dodge started her pursuit of higher education at Golden West Community College in Huntington Beach, California and continued until she received her doctorate.

“It was because of my professors, they were the people who gave me the nudges and the encouragement and the knowledge to move forward as a first-generation student,” Dodge said. “I didn’t even know what the degrees were until I got them.” 

At UMD, Dodge believes it is the professor’s job to foster an environment– one that advances diversity, equity and inclusion. Part of Dodge’s job is to interact with faculty and staff so that she can ensure they understand these terms, know the implications of them and how to apply them to the area and provide them with tools and assistance to meet these goals. 

Her vision for UMD’s campus is that diversity, equity and inclusion become central to the identity of the college. Two of the ways Dodge wants to achieve this are to establish a National Coalition Building Institute [NCBI] affiliate– which comprises a conglomeration of students, faculty and administrators to supply diversity and inclusion programs across campus– and pull together diversity, equity and inclusion efforts across campus to make more of an impact than they would in isolation. 

The faculty and staff’s approach to diversity, inclusion, and equity is of primary concern to Dodge because they are the “constants.” Students graduate or may even transfer, but the faculty and staff are more permanent actors in using inclusive practice and creating environments where diversity can thrive. 

“Education is such a huge part of ensuring that students understand the impact of their words, the impact of their actions and some understanding of their own identity,” Dodge said. “People who do not understand their own identity find it easy to attack others.” 

Although the Office of Diversity and Inclusion’s practices are designed for faculty and staff, they also apply to students, as Dodge said it’s the collective goal to ensure they get to them. 

According to Dodge, diversity in its simplest form means difference, and this is why everyone should have a seat at the “diversity table.” Some of the time, diversity can be obstructed by wanting to belong though, Dodge said. 

“We need to determine ‘how do we allow people to be their authentic selves and bring that to the table and still belong no matter what.’” 

It’s especially important for people at the UMD and around the world to recognize that there are certain populations that have been and still are underrepresented, specifically in higher education, according to Dodge.

“I always remind [people,] particularly students of color and women, that these institutions were not made for them,” Dodge said. 

While change has happened, there are still institutions that have a ways to go, and it’s not just individual action that makes these populations feel unwelcome but also the systemic structure of these institutions, according to Dodge. 

While Dodge plans to continue working in higher education, as “there’s a lot of work to do right here at Maryland that [she] wants to achieve,” her dream job would be to work in K-12 as a second-grade teacher.