Student Cabinet for Inclusive Excellence finalizes full membership

Following a call for applications this Spring, the five founding members of Ohio University’s President’s Student Cabinet for Inclusive Excellence have selected 11 additional representatives, solidifying membership for the 2022-23 academic year.

The Cabinet will hold its first meeting with Ohio University President Hugh Sherman on Aug. 12. 
The Student Cabinet was created in Spring 2022 to provide a formalized mechanism for gathering feedback from students on the University’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

“These students bring an impressive range of skills to our Student Cabinet for Inclusive Excellence and I look forward to working with each of them,” interim Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Salome Nnoromele said. “It’s so important that we hear from a wide range of students about how we can be inclusive and address concerns, and I’m grateful for such a strong group of students for stepping forward for this important effort.”

The new members of the Cabinet are:

• Anna-Kaye Rowe, a Ph.D. student from Manchester, Jamaica;
• Jacob Levin, an undergraduate student from Bexley, Ohio;
• Charles Sanders, a graduate student from Sikeston, Missouri;
• Jada Wilkins, an undergraduate student from Pickerington, Ohio;
• Maya Meade, an undergraduate student from Oxford, Ohio;
• Samba Bah, a Ph.D. student from Kanuma, The Gambia;
• Aanya Datta, an undergraduate student from Calcutta, India;
• Lauren Slanker, an undergraduate student from Canfield, Ohio;
• Melanie Walls, an undergraduate student from Cleveland, Ohio;
• Des Owusu, an undergraduate student from Columbus, Ohio;
• Maria Benitez Iglesias, an undergraduate student from West Portsmouth, Ohio.

The new members join founding members Dayna Shoulders, Jhasmin Glass, Kylie Duncan, Julian Ross and Giah Harper.

The Cabinet, which will meet monthly with the president, executive vice president and provost, interim vice president for student affairs, and interim vice president for diversity and inclusion, will provide feedback to University leadership on initiatives and action items related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Other University leaders will be invited as appropriate.

Founding member and OHIO Student Senate President Dayna Shoulders said the group remains open to students enrolled on any of the University’s regional campuses or in online programs. 

“We had an amazing group of students step forward to show interest in participating in our inaugural year,” Shoulders said. “However, we would like to include representation from Ohio’s regional campuses and online programs as well to ensure their voices are reflected in our work.”

Regional or online students interested in being considered for the Cabinet should reach out to Dr. Duane Bruce, Executive Director of Diversity and Inclusion, at bruced1@ohio.edu.