Higher education administrator Jordan Shelby West G’16, G’18 will be recognized as an American College Personnel Association 2025 Diamond Honoree at ACPA’s 2025 Conference in Long Beach, CA, in February.
ACPA’s Diamond Honoree program recognizes individuals making significant contributions to higher education. Those inducted since the program’s inception in 1999 have distinguished themselves as teachers, administrators, researchers, writers, and association leaders.
Writing for the awards committee, Professor Jonathan A. McElderry, Dean of Student Inclusive Excellence, Elon University, says, “Dr. West has made a significant impact on higher education through her praxis, research, teaching, and service, as well as sustained contributions to ACPA, student affairs, and higher education.”
West is currently Associate Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity, and Community Engagement at The George Washington University (GW), where she leads the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Community Engagement, encompassing offices overseeing Title IX, disability support services, multicultural services, civic engagement, and public service. Before this position, West was GW’s Inaugural Director of University Diversity and Inclusion Programs.
In addition to her leadership role, West has a faculty appointment in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on Black Feminist Theory. She has integrated her passion for Beyoncé into her academic coursework, creating classes such as Black Feminist Theory: Lemons into Lemonade and Black Women in the United States.
Holding a Ph.D. from the Syracuse University School of Education, as well as a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Women and Gender Studies, West identifies as a scholar activist and is a formally trained social justice and antiracist educator and facilitator.
Before joining GW, West was the Inaugural Senior Diversity and Inclusion Training Specialist at Princeton University, where she created an 18-month Inclusion and Diversity Certificate Program, and she worked in Syracuse University’s Division of Student Affairs, where she directed the dialogue program Conversations About Race and Ethnicity.
West has been invited by the White House to speak at multiple events hosted by the President and the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans. She also works with institutions of higher education across the United States to conduct campus climate assessments and consults with institutions and professional associations on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Actively involved with the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education), and ACPA, she received ACPA’s 2023 Voices of Inclusion award for “professionals who create a strong culture where we can all learn, grow, and be successful.”