Staff
DEI Staff
Betty Jeanne Taylor, Ph.D., Director of Diversity Education Initiatives
Dr. Betty Jeanne Taylor joined the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement in 2010 and has been the Director of Diversity Education Initiatives (DEI) since 2011. Her responsibilities include development and facilitation of comprehensive diversity education programs, with an emphasis on sustained learning environments for university students, staff, faculty and community organizations. She is a member of UT’s Campus Climate Response Team and has served on the advisory committee for the UT Gender and Sexuality Center (GSC) since 2007, assisting with project evaluation and events such as Lavender Graduation. As a staff member in the Campus Diversity and Strategic Initiatives (CDSI) portfolio, she also assists with projects related to strategic planning, campus climate and campus diversity planning.
Dr. Taylor has almost fifteen years of experience in higher education administration as an instructor, facilitator and administrator. She began her professional career in Greek Life and Education in the Office of the Dean of Students at UT, serving as Director from 2002 – 2007. During that time she also instructed undergraduate courses, such as Intergroup Dialogue, through the Department of Educational Psychology in the College of Education.
Dr. Taylor holds a B.S. in communication and a M.S. in higher education from the Florida State University, as well as a Ph.D. in higher education administration from The University of Texas at Austin. Her research has focused on racial identity development and she has published in Diverse Issues in Higher Education.
Claudia García Medina, M.A., Graduate Research Assistant, Diversity Education Initiatives
Claudia García Medina is a doctoral student in the Higher Education Administration Program at The University of Texas at Austin and serves as a Graduate Research Assistant in Diversity Education Initiatives at The University of Texas at Austin. She received a B.A. in Psychology and a B.S. in Anthropology from Oregon State University and a M.A. in Student Development Administration from Seattle University.
Prior to attending graduate school, Claudia worked at Linfield College as Director of Multicultural Programs, conducting trainings on social justice, upholding safe spaces and group facilitation. She was born in Mexico and immigrated to the U.S. with her parents at a young age. Growing up in a family of farmworkers, her parents always stressed the importance of education as the biggest equalizer. She plans to conduct research on Latino males in higher education, looking at contextual factors that contribute to their high attrition rates in college. Other research interests include equity and access, race relations in higher education and education equity.
Campus Diversity and Strategic Initiatives (CDSI) Staff
Sherri L. Sanders, Ph.D.
Associate Vice President for Campus Diversity and Strategic Initiatives
S. Kiersten Ferguson, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Campus Diversity and Strategic Initiatives
Claudia García Medina, M.A.
Graduate Research Assistant for Diversity Education Initiatives, Campus Diversity and Strategic Initiatives
Ryan A. Miller, Ed.M.
Associate Director of Campus Diversity and Strategic Initiatives
Betty Jeanne Taylor, Ph.D.
Director of Diversity Education Initiatives, Campus Diversity and Strategic Initiatives
