North Bay Woman

S P R I N G | S U M M E R 2 0 2 1 NORTH BAY WOMAN 49 from Bowling Green at a graduate school fair in Los Angeles, and "I just knew," she recalls. As an undergraduate, she was the first African American head resident and involved in orientation but wasn't aware she was working with student affairs professionals. 3 Why is your work meaningful at Dominican? She's been at Dominican for three years and was director of Career Development for the first two. "It's one of my strengths. I develop and create programs. That has been a hallmark of my career," she says. Working with colleagues in the diversity action group is especially meaningful be- cause of their energy and enthusiasm for diversity work. 4 Why did Dominican University create your position? "It was really a shift in title and focus," she says. Dominican already had a dean of diversity, and a faculty member filled the position, but the university wanted a practitioner rather than an academic. Davidson performs diversity training and engages students on campus and trained 200 coaches and student athletes in the fall. She is working with the staff to implement a diversity plan. 5 What do you hope to accomplish in your new role? The ultimate goal is to create an environment where people can be their full selves and embraced for who they are, she says. The president mandated that all faculty and staff have Clockwise from top left: Davidson in Oakland in 2020; as a Relay for Life featured speaker in Newport News, Virginia in 2010; Black Student Union Awards at Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas; facilitating a faculty panel for students to help them learn how to "fail well" at Trinity University in 2018. – Photos courtesy of Stacy Davidson

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