(DePaul University/Jeff Carrion)
Acting Provost Salma Ghanem announced today, June 6, the appointment of Ruben Parra as the interim associate provost for diversity and inclusion. Parra is currently a professor of computational chemistry in the College of Science and Health. His interim appointment will begin July 1 through the end of the 2019-20 academic year.
As interim associate provost, Parra will provide leadership and counsel on matters of diversity and inclusion. He will work closely with the schools and colleges to explore ways to integrate diversity into the curriculum, as well as to help recruit and retain a diverse faculty. Close collaboration with the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity, the President’s Diversity Advisory Committee and the Center for Access and Attainment will be an integral part of Parra’s role.
“Ensuring DePaul continues to be a welcoming and respectful community that embraces diversity is a core value of our Catholic and Vincentian mission,” says Acting Provost Salma Ghanem. “Throughout his time at DePaul, Ruben has consistently demonstrated a personal commitment to upholding our values, in particular through his participation in the Vincentian Mission Institute. I am grateful he has agreed to serve our university.”
Parra joined DePaul University in 2001. In addition to his faculty role in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, he was the director of Teaching, Learning and Assessment from 2011 to 2018. He is a member of the 2017-19 DePaul cohort of the Vincentian Mission Institute. He also was a pilot member of the leadership development program, Leading People at DePaul, in 2017.
“I am always happy to serve the university,” Parra says. “As I complete my two years as a member of the Vincentian Mission Institute, I thought what better way to apply all that I learned than this opportunity to get deeper into our mission. I look forward to working with all my DePaul colleagues during this interim appointment.”
Academic Affairs will conduct an external search for a permanent associate provost for diversity and inclusion to join DePaul for the 2020-21 academic year.