Mary Baldwin University appoints first chief diversity officer

The Rev. Andrea Cornett-Scott has been named Mary Baldwin University’s first chief diversity officer, effective Aug. 1.

Cornett-Scott will be responsible for campuswide diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and resources. Her duties will include assessing the need for training initiatives on cultural competency, racial sensitivity, gender equity and other topics. She reports to Pamela Fox, the Staunton university’s president.

“[The] Rev. Cornett-Scott has been essential to building the diverse and inclusive community at Mary Baldwin over the course of her extraordinary 25-year tenure,” Fox said in a statement. “A strong and proven leader of inclusive excellence, she will bring both experience and inspiration to the inaugural position of chief diversity officer, as well as a keen sense of compassion for our students and their individual lived experiences.”

Cornett-Scott joined Mary Baldwin in 1996 as the director of African American affairs. She was most recently associate provost for inclusive excellence, a role in which she established and directed the Ida B. Wells Living-Learning Community, a leadership program for women of African descent.

“I am thrilled to have forged much of my life’s work at Mary Baldwin University creating programming that prepares students to serve in a diverse world,” Cornett-Scott said in a statement. “I am looking forward to working closely with the executive staff, the Coalition for Racial and Social Justice, faculty, staff, students, alumni and the broader community to both grapple with complex issues and lead an intentional effort to sustain an environment that fosters greater inclusive excellence.”

Cornett-Scott taught the African American Religion and Community and Practice courses, both of which support the African American studies minor, as well as Faith, Life and Service courses.

In 2000, she established Christ Our Redeemer AME Church in Staunton, where she continues to serve as pastor.

Cornett-Scott holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Morris Brown College and a master of divinity from Payne Theological Seminary.