Dr. Sheila Edwards Lange was appointed vice president for minority affairs and vice provost for diversity at the University of Washington effective July 1, 2007.
She has a wide array of experience in higher education administration and has been a force for diversity at the UW. Under her leadership, the UW Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity (OMA&D) administers programs that broaden college access, support student success and enhance diversity-related teaching and learning. OMA&D also works collaboratively with and serves as a resource for colleges and administrative units across campus as they establish, coordinate and assess their contributions to institutional diversity goals.
Dr. Lange has helped develop creative faculty recruitment initiatives and oversees the Office for Faculty Advancement whose role is to ensure that the UW recruits, promotes and retains an excellent and diverse faculty.
She is active in mentoring students, especially in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and is the project manager for an alliance between colleges in Washington, Oregon and Idaho that work collaboratively to increase the number of underrepresented students earning degrees in STEM. She also serves on the UW ADVANCE Leadership team which advocates for more female faculty in STEM.
Dr. Lange is a charter member of the National Association of Chief Diversity Officers. 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. Her civic and community engagement activities include the Greater Seattle Chapter of The Links, Incorporated; serving on the boards of the Alliance for Education and the Seattle Art Museum, and membership in many other local organizations.
Dr. Lange 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. 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.
Dr. Lange received a doctorate from the UW in educational leadership and policy studies and a master’s degree in public administration. She holds a bachelor’s degree in social ecology from the University of California, Irvine.
