University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Director of Equity and Affirmative Action Pamela M. Lassiter has accepted a position as the director of diversity and equity at Southern Connecticut State University.
Lassiter began at UW Oshkosh in August 2008. While serving at UW Oshkosh, she has led development of the institution’s first Inclusive Excellence Plan, annually educated hundreds of campus employees on topics related to equity and diversity, ensured fair and equitable hiring practices and collaborated with faculty, staff, student and the community to launch and grow the University’s Social Justice Week events and programming.
In five years, Social Justice Week has evolved to include more than 23 events and programs. National keynote speakers on topics including, but not limited to, equality, justice and sustainability presented to large campus and community audiences as part of the week of engagement. Lassiter has also helped UW Oshkosh keep the greater Oshkosh area’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration a vibrant and widely-attended event, bringing the community together to remember and honor the great civil rights leader and his vision.
“Over the years, many individuals and offices have benefitted from Pam’s service,” UW Oshkosh Chancellor Richard Wells said. “The care and attention she devoted to the performance of her duties always reflected her very best attributes, and we know that she worked exceedingly hard to strengthen and improve the connections between students, faculty, staff and many entities across campus and beyond.”
Lassiter begins her new role at Southern Connecticut State on Aug. 26. There, beyond her daily duties, Lassiter will help the institution “to develop a commission charged with examining issues and ideas surrounding Southern’s commitment to inclusion and diversity in areas such as employment, student life and academics,” President Mary Papazian stated in a weekly “President’s Blog” post announcing Lassiter’s hire.
“Throughout her career, Pamela has provided innovative leadership designing and implementing programs to enhance key workplace initiatives in the areas of diversity, equity and access,” Papazian said.
Lassiter earned her bachelor’s degree from Queens College of the City University of New York in 1982 and her juris doctorate from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1985.
Before her tenure at UW Oshkosh, she served as the associate director of workplace diversity for the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), providing equal employment opportunity support for the Newark campus office and its 9,000 employees represented by 13 labor unions and 3,000 students.
She also served as a consultant for Ajilon Professional Staffing She was director of human resources for Navisys Inc., director of compliance and diversity programs for the 30,000-employee City University of New York (CUNY), benefits consultant for PriceWaterhouseCoopers, human resources staffing manager for AT&T Corp., employment administrator for The CIT Group, senior equal employment opportunity representative for Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield and equal opportunity specialist for the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment Standards Administration – Office of Federal Contracts Compliance Program (OFCCP).
Lassiter has also served at the head of the class. She has taught employment law, human resources management, organizational behavior, negotiations and business ethics for William Paterson University and Rutgers University among other institutions. She shared her knowledge and expertise by teaching a human relations course in the College of Business at UW Oshkosh.
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