GerShun Avilez Appointed Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
June 30, 2022
The Professor of English will continue to advance DEI practices across the college.
By Jessica Weiss ’05
Dean Bonnie Thornton Dill has announced the appointment of Professor of English GerShun Avilez as the associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the College of Arts and Humanities (ARHU). Effective July 1, Avilez will lead the college in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion goals and practices.
The half-time administrative role will represent the Office of the Dean in equity affairs and work with college and university administration, as well as with ARHU faculty, staff and students. Responsibilities include coordinating and implementing DEI initiatives, collecting and sharing information and activities regarding DEI, and analyzing—and revising as needed—college policies and procedures.
“In a moment of transition for the college, I am so pleased that GerShun Avilez will serve as ARHU’s next associate dean for DEI,” Thornton Dill said. “As a leader and a scholar focused deeply on the ongoing reality of social inequality, GerShun is well positioned to ensure ARHU continues to do right on its mission and vision to be an inclusive, equitable and diverse environment. With him at the helm, I am confident ARHU will remain a campus leader on all matters of DEI.”
An award-winning teacher and writer, Avilez is a scholar of African American and Black Diasporic literatures and visual cultures with a focus on gender and sexuality. He is the author of two books, “Radical Aesthetics and Modern Black Nationalism” (2016) and “Black Queer Freedom” (2020) and the coeditor of the “Norton Anthology of American Literature, 1945-Present” (2022). In the Department of English, he has served as the director of graduate studies and the director of career development. In his previous appointment as associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he served as the director of the program in sexuality studies and was the director of graduate studies for the English department.
Avilez steps into the role as ARHU welcomes a new dean, Stephanie Shonekan. Working closely with Shonekan, Avilez will promote diversity, equity and inclusion in hiring, onboarding and retention, serve as the primary convener of the dean’s Committee on Race, Equity and Justice and serve as the ARHU administrative lead on TerrapinSTRONG, the university’s initiative to create an inclusive environment. He will also continue work to establish and implement a new and updated equity and justice strategic plan for the college, a follow-up to ARHU’s diversity strategic plan. The updated plan will assess DEI work and lay forth new recommendations for the college.
“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be part of this work and part of these essential conversations,” Avilez said. “This is a critical moment, and I’m thankful the university is interested in shedding a light on the realities of inequality, actively undoing those histories and finding opportunities and resources to make this a better place for all of us. This is the work I want to be doing—the opportunity to serve in this role allows me to try to make things better for everyone if I can.”
Under Thornton Dill’s leadership, the college made a number of key advances toward strengthening diversity, equity and inclusion. A collegewide Campaign on Race, Equity and Justice, launched in 2020, has sought to increase knowledge of systemic racism and the issues related to anti-racist practice, transform curriculum and scholarship to center the experiences of historically underrepresented communities, reduce incidents of individual and systemic racism and discrimination and more.
“Part of the joy of this position is really showcasing more effectively all the things that are already happening in ARHU that are to the benefit of the entire university,” Avilez added: “I see the job as an attempt to help the college build on its strengths.”
Thornton Dill underscored her sincere appreciation for Professor of Communication Trevor Parry-Giles, who previously held the associate dean role. He will now serve as associate dean for faculty affairs and research.