Diversity & Inclusion

Judy Robinson Rogers, Ph.D., became the eleventh president of Cottey College in 2004. Previously, she served as vice president for leadership and ethics at Georgetown College, Georgetown, Kentucky, and as associate vice president for academic affairs, undergraduate dean, and professor of English at Morehead State University, Morehead, Kentucky. In addition to general education English, Dr. Rogers taught undergraduate and graduate courses in modern and American literature. She received her undergraduate degree in English and speech/theatre from Centre College of Kentucky and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill which she attended as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow.

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Sally Stevens is the Executive Director of the University of Arizona - Southwest Institute for Research on Women (SIROW) and a Distinguished Outreach Professor in the Department of Gender and Women's Studies. Dr. Stevens conducts collaborative process and outcome studies in the area of health disparities, substance abuse and mental health, HIV and other infectious diseases, and innovations in education. Much of her work is community-based with a focus on gender and culture. Dr. Stevens has published numerous articles and edited several collected volumes on these topics. Her most recent article is titled Meeting the Substance Abuse Treatment Needs of Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Women: Implications from Research to Practice. Dr. Stevens conducts workshops and trainings on substance abuse and mental health treatment approaches, diversity and equity, community-based participatory action research, and program evaluation.

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Clyda S. Rent, Ph.D. is recognized as a successful leader, speaker, strategic planner, executive coach, and marketer. She played primary roles in the successful turnaround efforts of two significant higher education institutions. She served as a university president, vice-president, or dean for over two decades and on corporate boards. Rent was named by Working Woman magazine as One of the Nation’s Ten Most Admired Managers and in 2000 was honored as one of eleven for the International Women’s Forum award, Women Who Make a Difference. Rent is Co-founder and Principal of Rent Consulting Group, LLC in Charlotte, NC. The firm focuses on executive search, leadership, strategic planning, and executive coaching for leaders in higher education and health care sectors. Her coaching/mentoring clients include leaders and aspiring-to-next-level leaders from dean to president from major colleges and universities and health care organizations.

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Lorna Duphiney Edmundson, Ed.D., President Emerita of Wilson College, is recognized as an effective leader, fundraiser, and facilitator of sustainable growth and change in higher education. Dr. Edmundson helps educational institutions build on their distinctions; strengthen finances and planning; create ethnic, racial and gender equity; encourage women and students of color to pursue the sciences; diversify and internationalize campuses; and forge international partnerships. She served as President of Wilson College from 2001-2011 and has held leadership roles at Columbia University, the American University of Paris, Marymount College, Trinity College, and Colby Sawyer College. Dr. Edmundson was honored with the Athena International Leadership Award, an Honorary Degree from Rhode Island College, and an Honorary, Lifetime Membership in Rotary International. She is featured among Asian and U.S. leaders in Women at the Top, by Cheung and Halpern.

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Mildred García, Ed.D., is the incoming president of California State University, Fullerton, and currently serves in that capacity at CSU Dominguez Hills, where she has been since 2007. She is the first Latina president of the CSU system. During her tenure, García has cut costs, boosted enrollment, increased student graduation rates and expanded fundraising. She facilitated the first endowed professorship, the Wallis Annenberg Endowed Professor for Innovation in STEM Education.

García is a scholar in the field of higher education, and her research and publications have concentrated on equity in higher education and its impact on policy practice. She is a much sought-after speaker at national and international conferences, and serves on the boards of many higher education organizations.

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