To the Campus Community:
I am writing to share updates on a transition in our leadership for inclusive excellence and belonging.
Christine Grant, assistant vice president for inclusive excellence and belonging, will retire this June, following 28 years of dedicated service to the University of Hartford. Chris began her UHart career in 1997 as a coordinator and counselor in graduate and adult services. She moved into a role as the corporate and community relations associate, before being named executive director of diversity, equity, and community engagement in 2017. She was appointed to the President’s Cabinet in 2020, where she has provided leadership for numerous initiatives and programs supporting diversity and inclusion over the past five years. In that work, she has collaborated with students, faculty, and staff across campus, in addition to her exemplary efforts connecting our university to the Greater Hartford community.
Chris’s expert voice, knowledge, and experiences were vital to the creation and execution of the University’s 12-Point Action Plan for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She has co-led the President’s Steering Committee on DEI for many years, and signature highlights of her leadership include our annual MLK Program and Awards Ceremony, the administration of new Pulse and climate surveys, and a host of impactful trainings and impressive speaker series for our community. In 2022, she was honored as one of Connecticut’s “100 Women of Color.”
I am grateful to Chris for her selfless contributions and the energy she has invested in our student and university community over her impactful tenure at UHart. In the spring, I look forward to bringing the campus together to celebrate her legacy of care and excellence in guiding our inclusion and belonging work.
As we begin a new era of excellence reimagined, I am also pleased to announce the appointment of K. Kayon Morgan, PhD, assistant professor of educational leadership, as vice president for inclusive excellence and belonging. Dr. Morgan will begin her tenure on January 1, 2025, and work closely with me and Chris on a thoughtful and intentional assessment and transition of our university’s progress, priorities, programs, and structures that support a comprehensive approach to inclusive excellence and belonging in our community.
Kayon joined the University of Hartford in 2020 from the University of Denver, where she earned her doctoral degree. She later taught at the graduate level and worked as a senior research associate on major grant projects. With over two decades in higher education, including academics, operations, and student support services, she brings deep experience and expertise in student and faculty engagement, inclusive pedagogy, and leadership development. As a critical emancipatory scholar and practitioner, her research is dedicated to transforming spaces, systems, and policies to better serve historically marginalized populations. Committed to impactful research, Kayon was recently awarded a prestigious Fulbright Global Scholar Award for her groundbreaking study on how groups of Black people in South Africa and Jamaica engage in anti-colonial expressions of liberation and resistance. Her work in this study is poised to design a new research methodological approach for Black communities and foster global partnerships.
Kayon’s work is not only about academic excellence–it’s also about making a meaningful difference in local and global communities. I am confident that she will be a transformative leader and partner in continuing to advance this critically important work at UHart. In the new year, we will provide additional details and updates about our inclusive excellence leadership transition, including our plan to honor Chris Grant.
With appreciation…lpw