Mary Ontiveros Named Colorado State University Vice President for Diversity

Note to Reporters: A photo of Mary Ontiveros is available with the news release at http://www.news.colostate.edu/ or www.flickr.com/coloradostateuniversity.

Colorado State University President Tony Frank has named longtime university veteran Mary Ontiveros to the position of vice president for Diversity.

Ontiveros will begin the part-time position on July 1. She will retain a part-time post as associate vice president for the Division of Enrollment and Access.

“I was fortunate to be able to choose from an outstanding group of internal candidates. Ultimately, Mary’s history with the university, her exceptional connections in the statewide community and her comprehensive understanding of the challenges we face in building a more welcoming, diverse campus all make her a great fit with this position,” Frank said. “I believe she also has the passion, diplomacy and sense of humor to work through the inevitable challenges she’ll face in establishing a new, uncharted leadership role.”

Based on recommendations from a Diversity Task Force, Frank created the position of vice president for Diversity, separated organizationally from the Office of Equal Opportunity. The position is for three years, at which time the university will evaluate how to move forward. The search was open only to current university employees.

Ontiveros will coordinate, initiate and lead the institution’s diversity efforts to achieve a sustainable environment that is inclusive and supportive. She will lead diversity planning efforts including assessment, evaluation and accountability; develop strategic partnerships, alliances and collaborations; organize the annual Diversity Conference; help to coordinate activities among on-campus units, commissions, committees and task forces; and represent the university through networking and collaboration with outside communities, schools and organizations.

Ontiveros received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Colorado State in 1973 and joined the university in 1974 as a research associate. She worked her way up from administrative assistant in the Chicano Studies Office to acting director of Chicano Student Services and later associate director of Admissions. Ontiveros served as director of Admissions from 1983 to 2002 when she was appointed executive director of Admissions. She was named associate vice president in 2007.

She has served as a special consultant to the president for CSU-Pueblo and, for more than 20 years, taught an admissions workshop in the School of Education on the Fort Collins campus.

Her many awards and honors include the university’s Margaret B. Hazaleus Award, which she received this spring; the Northern Colorado Hispanic Leadership Council Award for Leadership and Contributions to the Hispanic Community; and the CSU Minority Distinguished Service Award. She is also a member of the Colorado Council on High School/College Relations Hall of Fame and the National Hispanic Institute Hall of Fame.

Ontiveros has served on numerous boards and commissions including the Coalition for the Educational Advancement of Latinos, the Boettcher Scholarship Committee, the Bill and Melinda Gates Millennium Scholarship Committee, the American College Testing Advisory Council and the Association of Chief Admissions Officers at Public Universities. She holds a master’s degree in education from Colorado State University.

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