Dr. Sheila Edwards Lange (’00, ’06) has been selected as the new chancellor of UW Tacoma beginning September 16, 2021 pending approval from the UW Board of Regents.
Dr. Edwards Lange has a celebrated history with the University of Washington from her service as the vice president of the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity and vice provost for diversity from 2005 to 2015. Under her leadership, OMA&D made great strides in the work to broaden college access, support student success and enhance diversity-related teaching and learning on campus. Included among the many milestones accomplished under Dr. Edwards Lange were the naming and renovation of the Samuel E. Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center, the completion of a 40-plus year dream to build wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ – Intellectual House, a longhouse-style facility on the UW campus and the passage of a diversity course requirement for all UW undergraduates. Additional accomplishments from Dr. Edwards Lange’s time at UW include increasing campus diversity and consulting with campus leadership to improve the campus climate leading to the retention of diverse students, faculty and staff. As a result of her work, the UW community is now engaged in making the campus more inclusive and welcoming for people of all backgrounds.
Dr. Edwards Lange has helped develop creative faculty recruitment initiatives and oversaw the Office for Faculty Advancement whose role is to ensure that the UW recruits, promotes and retains an excellent and diverse faculty. Dr. Lange is a charter member of the National Association of Chief Diversity Officers and she is also a member of the Women in Engineering and Program Advocates Network (WEPAN), the Association for the Study of Higher Education, the American Educational Research Association and the Association for Institutional Research. She was the recipient of the UW’s 2005 Diversity Award for Community Building in recognition of her work as a community activist and advocate for diversity in higher education. In 2011, she was named a Woman of Influence by the Puget Sound Business Journal and received a Crystal Eagle Leadership Award at Tabor 100’s annual Captains of Industry Gala. In 2013, Dr. Edwards Lange was honored for her extraordinary long-term service to WEPAN with the organization Founder’s Award. She also received the 2013 UW College of Education Distinguished Graduate Award.
Please join all of us at OMA&D in congratulating Dr. Sheila Edwards Lange on her selection as chancellor of UW Tacoma.
Read more about Dr. Sheila Edwards Lange’s selection on UW News.