College Names Interim Director of Multicultural Affairs

Hector Vélez-Guadalupe has been appointed interim director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs at Ithaca College. Vélez, an associate professor and chair of the Department of Sociology, has been released from his teaching duties for the fall semester to serve as the full-time interim director while the search for a replacement for Keeon Gregory continues.

"We are appointing an interim director because of the campus-wide importance of the position to the College and its students," says Tanya Saunders, assistant provost for special programs.

Vélez first came to Ithaca College in 1985 as an assistant professor of sociology. He was named an associate professor in 1990 and was appointed chair in 1998. He is also an adjunct associate professor of sociology at Cornell University. Prior to coming to Ithaca College, Vélez taught sociology at the Rochester Institute of Technology and the former Eisenhower College in Seneca Falls.

In addition to teaching, Vélez has served Ithaca College as an adviser to Sociedad Latina and as a member of the President’s Minority Experience Task Force. He has also been a member of Faculty Council, serving on the Minority Experience and Executive Committees. He is currently a member of various search committees throughout the campus. In addition, he is a founding member of the Latino Civic Association of Tompkins County.

As interim director, Vélez will be responsible for providing assertive leadership and direction in creating and maintaining a campus environment conducive to racial and cultural diversity. He will work cooperatively with the campus community to establish and evaluate campus-wide multicultural efforts and to increase diversity awareness.

"Dr. Vélez is an excellent choice for interim director because of his demonstrated and sustained commitment to the ideals represented by the Office of Multicultural Affairs," Saunders says. "He understands the complexities, challenges, and opportunities that race and ethnicity pose for a pluralistic society, and he is very able in facilitating communications across perceived differences."

The director’s position has been vacant since spring, when Keeon Gregory left to become associate director of admissions at the University of Rochester.