Chief Diversity Officer to retire

By Ashley Hall, Class of 2015

He’ll be a tough act to follow. Clemson University’s chief diversity officer Leon Wiles will retire June 30. Since 2008, Wiles has served in this capacity as the president’s senior executive responsible for all university equity and inclusion efforts.

As the university’s first chief diversity officer, Wiles has had a tremendous impact on the development and implementation of initiatives for equity and inclusion. Some of his favorite accomplishments include:

• Coordinating faculty diversity and development,
• Obtaining institutional membership to the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity,
• Establishing the Pathfinders Program, an initiative that brings 8-10 scholars of color to campus as prospective faculty and post-doctoral candidates to employ as professors or in a post-doctoral role),
• Funding a diversity and inclusive excellence grant, graduate diversity fellowships and many other minority scholarships and need-based grants, and
• Sponsoring the Civil Treatment Workplace Professional Development Program, the Minority Student Success Initiative and the 34^th Annual National Summer Institute for underrepresented high school students in science, technology, engineering and math at Clemson University in 2010.

In contemplating the future of Clemson’s chief diversity office, Wiles hopes to see the university continue strive toward becoming a more diverse, inclusive and welcoming institution through the implementation of its policies, practices, programs and processes.

“I am especially interested in having more of the campus community population engage in substantive discussion and collaborative action, resulting in a campus community that fully embraces and celebrates differences in thought, gender, religion, culture, race, national origin, ability, sexual orientation, identity, creed, ethnicity, age, geographic origin and socioeconomic status,” he said.

Serving as Clemson’s chief diversity officer, Wiles is most proud of the courageous people at Clemson, who appreciate the institution’s assets, but are not afraid to confront its challenges in an honest, open and resolute manner.

“The Clemson community needs to have broad participation in dialogue about its racial history and how best to move forward as a high seminary of learning and a beacon of enlightenment for the state and nation in regard to racial reconciliation,” Wiles said.

The faculty and students, who continue to work toward making Clemson a more inclusive environment, have inspired Wiles. He is anxious to see the university’s inclusion efforts continue in the future and is happy that diversity and inclusion is among the goals of Clemson’s 2020Foward addition the 2020 Road Map.

As for his own future, Wiles says he plans to remain active in the community, serving on educational and community boards as well as playing golf, traveling, serving in his church and spending more time with his family.

The university continues its search for Wiles’ replacement and will keep you updated through Inside Clemson.

Wish Wiles well on his retirement at a reception on June 25.