HBCUs challenge you in ways you might never expect, and yet leave you feeling more prepared than ever. Kerri Alexander can attest to that, as she will have her hands full with two new positions at Xavier University of Louisiana. She has various experience that includes leading initiatives racial justice, and social justice for women. She has also worked for Howard University and is currently pursuing her PhD there as well. Read more below from Xavier’s release about why Kerri Alexander was such a standout choice!
Xavier University of Louisiana has selected Kerri Alexander to serve as Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs and Chief Inclusion Officer. Alexander joins the institution after having served as Director of Discipleship and Christian Education at Kingdom Fellowship A.M.E. Church where she created courses meant to engage and encourage spiritual and personal growth amongst the 6,000-member congregation. As Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs and Chief Inclusion Officer, she will work alongside leadership within the Division of Student Affairs to fulfill their mission of providing Xavierites with opportunities to cultivate co-curricular experiences which compliment their academic endeavors and ensure a safe and affirming environment.
“We are extremely excited to have Ms. Kerri Alexander join our Student Affairs family here at Xavier,” says Curtis Wright, Vice President of Student Affairs at Xavier University of Louisiana. “We conducted a national search with many talented leaders and her candidacy emerged as the right fit for this moment in our University’s history.”
Alexander brings a multifaceted background with her to the University. Prior to Xavier, she served as an Education and Public History Fellow at the National Women’s History Museum where she assisted in creating public programming focused on highlighting women. During her time at the Museum, she worked with Google to curate a digital exhibit for the site’s 2019 Black History Month feature. Before her role at Kingdom Fellowship A.M.E Church, she began teaching as a Teacher’s Associate at Howard University within the History Department concentrating on uncovering black history lost in traditional grade-school education. Alexander has also worked at Womanspace Inc. Domestic Violence Shelter as a Shelter Chaplain Resident where she addressed the needs of women and children who were survivors of domestic violence and sex trafficking while simultaneously leading an agency-wide employee development workshop addressing feminism, racism, and intersectionality.
“Xavier already has such a rich legacy of making important and lasting change on-campus and within the community that when I saw the opportunity I knew it was a no brainer,” said Alexander. “I am thrilled for the opportunity to engage Xavierites in the important conversations that are taking place in our society while also staying true to the strong traditions that have established the excellence of Xavier as the notable institution it is today. I hope to be able to take the lessons we’ve learned from the past as a society and instill those lessons in our students to ensure a brighter future.”
Within her role as Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs and Chief Inclusion Officer, Alexander will serve as a Deputy Title IX Coordinator for the University and oversee the Office of Inclusion and Social Justice, Campus Ministry, the Office of Violence Prevention Education and Advocacy, veteran affairs, and help to push civic engagement initiatives.
As a member of Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society, Association of Black Seminarians and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Alexander has received a Bachelors of Science in Arts Administration from Wagner College, a Masters of Arts in Theological Studies from Princeton Theological Seminary, and has completed her coursework towards a PhD in History and Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies from Howard University. She is currently finishing her dissertation focused on the sale and separation of enslaved families during the nineteenth century and the pervasiveness of institutional separation to this day.
