Three finalists have been revealed as potential replacements for Jeanne Arnold as the new vice president for inclusion and equity at Grand Valley State University. GVSU President Thomas Haas created the Vice President of Inclusion and Equity position in 2007, and Arnold has been the only person to hold the position. Arnold resigned in July, and the search for a replacement began.

Matthew McLogan, vice president for university relations, is on the committee for the hiring of the new vice president.

“This search has been happening since fall, and we’ve employed a search firm to find good candidates,” McLogan said. “We’ve been going over resumes and info for the last six weeks and have interviewed a number of candidates and are ready to announce the names of the three finalists who will be coming to meet the community and to be interviewed by Haas, who has the final decision.”

Andrew Plague, GVSU Student Senate president, has also played a role in deciding candidates.

“I was fortunate enough to have been included as a full member of the committee,” Plague said. “I reviewed the materials submitted by candidates and then worked with the rest of the committee as we chose the top candidates who we would interview. As a committee, we interviewed six of the applicants and recommended three of them to be interviewed by President Haas and meet with the campus community.”

Carmen Suarez, John Gates and Jesse Bernal have been named the three finalists who will compete for Arnold’s position.

Suarez, director of the Office of Human Rights, Access and Inclusion at the University of Idaho, is assistant to the president for diversity and the associate vice provost for Student Affairs. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history, a master’s degree in history and a doctorate in education from Southern Illinois University.

Gates, president and CEO of Campus Diversity Agenda and principal of Criticality Management Consulting in New York City, is an organizational scientist who specializes in institutional diversity and inclusion strategies. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Morehouse College, a master’s degree in higher education administration from New York University and a doctorate in organizational behavior from the University of London.

Bernal, director of the Office for Diversity and Inclusion at Santa Clara University in California, develops strategies for underrepresented faculty recruitment, retention and success and coordinates with the Offices of Enrollment Management and Affirmative Action to recruit and support a diverse student body. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Westmont College and has a master’s and doctorate in education from UC Santa Barbara.

The three finalists will visit GVSU between Jan. 20 and 22 to meet the community, senior management team, staff in the inclusion and equity division and hold their own open forum to conduct a question and answer session with the community.

Suarez’s open forum is Tuesday, Jan. 20 from 11 a.m. to noon in Room 2204 Kirkhof Center. Gates’ forum is Wednesday, Jan. 21 from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Room 2204 Kirkhof Center, and Bernal’s forum will be held Thursday, Jan. 22 from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Room 2250 Kirkhof Center.

“We encourage all that would like to meet the candidates to attend the forums, and those in attendance will have the opportunity to fill out a form or respond online with comments and observations,” McLogan said. “Those reactions are very welcomed and will be given serious consideration and the people who respond with comments are free to remain anonymous.”

The person in the Vice President for Inclusion and Equity position is a member of the Senior Management team, the University’s Chief Diversity Officer and heads the Division of Inclusion and Equity. The vice president is a university and community leader who promotes diversity and inclusion both within and around GVSU, according to the Division of Inclusion and Equity website.