Erin Grant
Staff Writer
Dr. Shameka Shelby, a dedicated member of the Chemistry Department, is stepping into a new leadership role in the fall. Starting in September, Shelby will serve as Florida Southern’s Deputy Chief of Staff and Associate Vice President for Inclusive Excellence.
Shelby has been a faculty member at FSC for over a decade. She serves as the Department Chair of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics. She has also taken an active role in the creation and facilitation of the Race, Culture and Ethnic Studies minor. Through her passion and mentorship, she’s made an impact on many. Fortunately for students, Shelby will still teach one class a semester.
Motivated by her family’s struggle with Sickle Cell Anemia, the first generation college graduate’s journey to FSC was shaped by her personal connection to science and higher education.
Living with and caring for those family members ignited her curiosity in the fields of science and medicine. Despite choosing not to concentrate on Sickle Cell research, her curiosity in scientific exploration led her to earn her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.
Shelby brings a wealth of personal experience to her new role as the Associate Vice President for Inclusive Excellence. While pursuing her undergraduate degree at Xavier University, a historically black college in New Orleans, Shelby came to understand the importance of representation in academia, and science as a whole.
“Previously, I did not see a lot of people that I felt that I could connect with in terms of professors,” Shelby said.
This newfound understanding led her to teach in an effort to be the inclusive representation she longed to see. Shelby’s decision to apply for teaching at Florida Southern was rooted in her desire to work in a small, student centered environment where the faculty are deeply involved in students’ development.
“When I started looking for jobs, Florida Southern was one of the places that I looked at and really kind of fell in love with,” she said. “It’s a very different environment than what you would get at a really big research-driven kind of institution.”
As the Deputy Chief of Staff and Associate Vice President for Inclusive Excellence, Shelby aims to weave inclusivity into every aspect of FSC. Unlike traditional diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that operate as separate entities, Shelby is committed to use the Inclusive Excellence (IE) model developed by the Association of American Colleges and Universities to embed those principles into the college’s foundational policies.
“I’ll work hand in hand with the president to be able to really launch some of our strategic priorities or goals that the institution has,” Shelby said.
Shelby has set her sights on positioning Florida Southern as a leader in inclusivity. Her vision mirrors the college’s— to “embrace diversity, nurture inclusivity, incorporate accessibility and pursue equity.” Shelby believes this is possible by fostering meaningful conversations and implementing campus-wide initiatives.
“We really get to have the ability potentially to be leaders in this space in terms of the academic environment— the small private college or medium private college type of environment —where we can actually be very innovative in the way that we approach inclusivity,” she said.
Shelby acknowledges FSC’s existing efforts in diversity and inclusion.
“[The diversity] really made me want to come teach here, that’s not something that you get everywhere. It made me feel like my goal of inclusivity diversity could be actually accomplished. My hope is that we continue that trajectory,” she said.
Part of her new role is advocating for students during their time here at FSC. In an effort to get to know the students, she plans to hold open office hours for students to express their concerns. She understands the significance of visibility and involvement when it comes to working with students and hopes to immerse herself into student life and activities to see these concerns for herself.
Shelby’s goals for her new position signify a promising new era of Inclusive Excellence for FSC. As she steps into this new role, Shelby hopes to foster changes that will influence the future of the college and its students for the better.
“I feel like [this position] can really give [FSC] an opportunity to create really impactful strategies that can impact all of our students, faculty, and staff,” Shelby said. “I look at it as a more holistic opportunity— it’s not separating this thing versus that thing, but it’s melding everything together.”
