Worthington named chief diversity officer at MU

COLUMBIA — MU has named its first chief diversity officer: Roger L. Worthington, interim assistant to the deputy chancellor.

Worthington, an associate professor of Educational, School and Counseling Psychology at MU, served as a faculty fellow to the deputy chancellor for two years and then as interim diversity officer for the past two years. According to a release from the MU News Bureau, he is expected to serve as a consultant on campus diversity initiatives, support MU’s commitment to equal opportunity and coordinate the Chancellor’s Diversity Initiative, which promotes a more inclusive campus climate.

“It has been wonderful to serve the MU community over the past 11 years as a faculty member, faculty fellow to the deputy chancellor and interim chief diversity officer, and I am pleased to have the opportunity to continue serving in this role on a permanent basis as the assistant deputy chancellor for diversity,” Worthington said in the release. As chief diversity officer, Worthington will earn a $116,292 salary.

Worthington has served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, the editorial board of the journal Diversity Officers in Higher Education, and the American Psychological Association Task Force on appropriate therapeutic responses to sexual orientation. At MU, he was a member of the Chancellor’s Strategic Planning and Resource Advisory Council, Faculty Council and Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center Advisory Council.