Dear Student,
We are delighted to announce that Ellise LaMotte will become the Associate Dean of Student Diversity, Inclusion, and Success for the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering, effective November 1, 2021.
Ellise, who currently serves as director of the Center for STEM Diversity, rose to the top of a list of impressive candidates during our national search. In her new role she will lead the Division of Student Diversity and Inclusion (DSDI), which serves as a resource for all undergraduate and graduate students across Arts and Sciences, SMFA at Tufts, and Engineering interested in thinking about social identities and the ways they impact our lives and the world. The Division is composed of the six current Identity Centers: Africana, Asian American, FIRST, LGBT, Latinx, and Women’s. In addition, a seventh center to serve Indigenous and Native American students will soon be created. The Center for STEM Diversity, which currently sits within the School of Engineering and supports students from both schools, will move to the DSDI with Ellise’s appointment.
In addition, Ellise will join Jackie Dejean, Heather Nathans, Chris Swan, and Karen Panetta as an Assistant/Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion (ADDI) for the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering. Ellise will represent the needs of A&S, SMFA, and SOE undergraduate students on the university-wide Cabinet on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
Ellise joined Tufts in 2018 as director of the Center for STEM Diversity, where she was responsible for supporting a diverse population of students as they pursued undergraduate and graduate degrees. Ellise led the Center’s strategic direction and infrastructure, implemented programmatic offerings, and secured resources in support of the academic and personal success of students from underrepresented groups. She participated in and utilized best-practice research on broadening underrepresented student participation in science, technology, engineering, and math. Most recently, she is working with a number of colleagues on the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Driving Change grant in support of diversity and inclusion in the STEM fields at Tufts University. Ellise holds a PhD in Education from University of Massachusetts Boston.
Prior to Tufts, Ellise was the Director of Academic Services at Olin College of Engineering and worked there with the Provost and faculty on financial, operational, and diversity and inclusion initiatives. Previously she spent three years with Babson College's Graduate School of Business Admissions office as the Director of Operations, where she managed reporting, event planning, and recruitment outreach efforts. Ellise was also the Director of the Commonwealth Institute’s Women of Ethnic Diversity Initiative, supporting women entrepreneurs as they grew their businesses by recruiting women, implementing programs, and raising funds.
We greatly appreciate the work of the search committee, expertly led by Jackie Dejean, Assistant Dean of Diversity & Inclusion for the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and Assistant Dean of Research for Arts and Sciences.
Please join us in congratulating Ellise on her new role.
Sincerely,
James M. Glaser
Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences
Professor of Political Science
Kyongbum Lee
Dean Ad Interim of the School of Engineering
Karol Family Professor
