As many institutions face the challenges of meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse population and surrounding social issues, the chief or senior diversity officer has become a highly sought-after and indispensable administrative leader.

Whether it’s in response to an institutional crisis associated with bias incidents on campus; perceptions by students, faculty, and staff of unwelcoming college environments; or increased and visible social activism and mobilization by institutional members, a CDO appointment demonstrates a desire for action and change at some institutional level. One of the challenges this role faces is the lack of consistency across higher education regarding how the office and role are structured, perceived, and fulfilled. Consequently, some CDO positions and their supporting efforts are designed to fail.

In response to the growth of the CDO role in higher education, NADOHE has developed this toolkit for new and aspiring CDOs. It aims to serve as a living resource of book recommendations, articles, and video content for diversity, equity, and inclusion practitioners.

The resources within this toolkit further extend the NADOHE Standards of Professional Practice and serve as a catalyst to the work we do to enhance DEI at our institutions. Our hope is for this repository to aid in your professional development and growth within the field. Furthermore, we encourage all participants of this information to “pay it forward” by becoming contributors. Click here to add to the database.