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About Diversity & Inclusion at SIUE
Institutional Diversity and Inclusion About Diversity & Inclusion at SIUE
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The Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion is housed in the Provost Suite, third floor, Rendleman Hall, and is comprised of the Associate Chancellor for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, Venessa A. Brown, and graduate or research assistants.
Associate Chancellor for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion
Venessa A. Brown, PhD
Dr. Brown is the Associate Chancellor for the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer at SIUE with a tenured faculty appointment as professor in the Department of Social Work. She also served as Associate Provost in Academic Affairs and Executive Director of the SIUE East Saint Louis Center (ESLC).
Brown began her academic career in 1993 as an assistant professor of sociology and social work in the Department of Social Sciences at Greenville College. Following in her commitment to accredited social work programs, Brown accepted a position at SIUE in 1995 as an assistant professor to start the Master's in Social Work (MSW) program. She was tenured and promoted in 2001, became full professor in 2006 and served as department chair from 2006–2007. In this role, she contributed to the overall success of the BSW/MSW program becoming fully accredited.
Brown is a native of Missouri, earned her BA in social work and psychology at Greenville College in 1983, MSW from Atlanta University School of Social Work in 1985, and a PhD in social work with a concentration in statistics and computer science from Clark Atlanta University in 1994. After attending her master's program, she worked for the State of Georgia as a child welfare investigator. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Brown is nationally and internationally known for her commitment to public child welfare. Her expertise is in the area of child sexual abuse, and she has also been recognized for teaching and international activities. Her past students have become leaders in the region. In addition to publishing articles and book chapters, she is the author of "Child Welfare Case Studies" published by Allyn & Bacon. Among her forthcoming projects is a textbook on community-based child welfare with multicultural families.
Over the years, she has been a principal investigator on state and federally funded grants. Under her leadership as the executive director of the SIUE East St. Louis Center, she oversaw grant-funded programs totaling approximately $15 million. She also secured a $1 million dollar cash gift to the University to open a state-of-the-art STEM Technology Lab for the SIUE Charter High School. Her current research focus is on mentoring, diversity and inclusion, and child welfare history inclusive of people of color and international child welfare.
Contact Dr. Brown
vbrown@siue.edu
Lacresha Linton
Lacresha Linton received a Bachelors in Social Work at SIUE. She is also pursuing her masters degree at SIUE where she hopes to find a future with children and families. Lacresha's hobbies are running, listening to music and dancing. A long term goal of Lacresha's is to establish her own community center in her hometown of Rock Island, Illinois.
Contact Lacresha
llinton@siue.edu
Brejani Owens
Brejani Owens earned her Bachelors in Social Work and is currently attending graduate school for her Masters in the same discipline. Brejani is mostly known for her administrative skills, passion, and work with a local non-profit Christian private school that educates underserved minority youth of the metro east area. Brejani aspires to continue to serve as an advocate and educator for disadvantaged populations, and to eventually become a Healthcare Policy Analyst, working to eliminate healthcare disparities and unethical treatment of minorities.
Contact Brejani
brejowe@siue.edu