Dr. Vernese Edghill-Walden joined Northern Illinois University in 2015 as their first chief diversity officer. In June 2020, she was promoted to Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Interim Chief Human Resource Officer. As a creative implementer, she is leading the university initiatives by aligning policies and practices between human resources and DEI that improve the university’s hiring processes, access, academic equity, inclusion, professional development & training for faculty, staff and students.
Prior to NIU, Dr. Edghill-Walden held several roles at the City Colleges of Chicago including Director of Institutional Research and Provost. Preceding the City Colleges, she served as the Director of the Center for Black Culture at the University of Delaware.