Robin R. Means Coleman

Dr. Robin Means Coleman is Northwestern’s vice president and associate provost for diversity and inclusion, chief diversity officer, and the Ida B. Wells and Ferdinand Barnett Professor in the Department of Communication Studies. She holds courtesy appointments in the Department of Radio/Television/Film and in the Department of African American Studies in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. Prior to Joining Northwestern, Dr. Coleman served as vice president & associate provost for diversity and professor in the Department of Communication at Texas A&M University.

There she implemented the University Diversity Plan, thereby leading efforts in accountability, climate, and equity. She also provided strategic and scholarly leadership on practices and measures that advance diversity and inclusion progress in diversifying the faculty, staff, and student body, with an emphasis on recruitment, retention, and progression. She worked collaboratively with faculty, staff, and students across Texas A&M’s 16 colleges and schools, two branch campuses, Health Science Center, and University Libraries. Before coming to Texas A&M University, Dr. Coleman was on the faculty at the University of Michigan, the University of Pittsburgh, and New York University. At the University of Michigan, she served as Associate Dean of Social Sciences in the Rackham Graduate School, as well as Chair of the Department of Communication Studies. An internationally prominent and award-winning Professor of Communication and Africana studies, Dr. Coleman’s scholarship focuses on African Americans, media, and effective intercultural communication [1].

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