Dear UMB Community,

I’m delighted to announce that after an extensive nationwide search, the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) has appointed Diane Forbes Berthoud, PhD, MA, as our first chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer and vice president (CDEIO/VP). In this role Dr. Forbes Berthoud will report directly to me and be an advisor, leader, and catalyst for institutional change focused on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at the institutional level while helping us continue to advance DEI at UMB. She will begin July 1.

Dr. Forbes Berthoud has more than 25 years of experience working in higher education, nonprofits, and government. She is returning to Maryland from the University of California, San Diego, where she served most recently as associate vice chancellor for equity, diversity, and inclusion. In that role she led the management of the university’s first Strategic Plan for Inclusive Excellence, directed central aspects of an accountability process involving senior leadership, developed accountability data dashboards to track key metrics, and oversaw the creation of an equity, diversity, and inclusion toolkit and diversity strategic planning toolkit to guide the planning and implementation processes.

She has served as a faculty member and lecturer at George Washington University; George Mason University; Howard University; the University of Maryland, College Park; and Trinity University, where she chaired the Department of Communication. She also has worked as an organizational development consultant with Montgomery County Government and an ombudsperson at the U.S. Capitol.

Forbes Berthoud earned MA and PhD degrees in Organizational Communication and Social Psychology from Howard University, and a BA in Communications from Barry University.

To be true to our mission, UMB has to address issues of structural racism and inequality directly through educational programs, our community engagement work, and our academic pursuits. As we continue on our path to being an anti-racist organization, I look forward to working with Dr. Forbes Berthoud to create transformative positive change that endures at UMB. I know that you will join me in welcoming her to the UMB community.

Sincerely,

Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS

President