Dr. Luz Randolph was recently named Associate Vice Provost of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion after a competitive search was conducted. She will begin her position July 1.
Randolph previously served at several Florida colleges in diversity, equity and inclusion positions and plans to bring that experience to LSU’s campus, she said. At St. Petersburg College Randolph was Executive Director of Development, and one of the giving days she headed up exceeded its goal by 257%, raising over $65,000.
“One of my greatest strengths is my ability to engage with the community and understand what their needs are,” Randolph said, noting that even though she is not native to the Baton Rouge and LSU area, she will do her best to understand the culture and environment of Louisiana and how she can best serve the university.
At LSU, Randolph will work on fundraising events while also conducting research, focusing on the expansion of diverse student enrollment, curriculums, trainings, workshops and connecting with the campus community.
“Creating opportunities for more education and expansion on diversity, equity and inclusion and social justice is something that was intentional for me for my next role,” Randolph said. “That’s what I’ll be doing [at LSU], in addition to their fundraising.”
Provost of the ODEI Dr. Dereck Rovaris described Randolph as an “ideal” candidate for the role and emphasized the office is glad she will be joining their team.
“Dr. Randolph not only brings a wealth of experience in both development and diversity, but she comes with effusive praise from those who have worked with and supervised her. She will certainly enrich LSU with her presence,” Rovaris said.
Randolph said she was drawn to LSU because she noticed the University’s clear commitment to diversity and it stood out from peer institutions. This will be the first SEC school Randolph has served at.
“The reason I decided to pursue the role at LSU, quite frankly, was seeing how much change was happening,” Randolph said. “I definitely understand that there have been challenges along the way, but the change that is coming is so essential and necessary to our field and to higher education, and I see LSU being a leader in that.”
When Randolph visited campus during the search process, she said it immediately “felt like home.”
“That’s a rare feeling,” Randolph said. “It was an incredible alignment; it was serendipitous.”
Although she has not spent much time on LSU’s campus, Randolph said so far she’s “loving it” and is excited to get to know the community further when she begins the job next month.
