Page 7 - 2023 Penn LPS Graduation Program

P E N N L P S G R A D U A T I O N • M A Y 1 4 , 2 0 2 3
Guest Speaker
Brighid Dwyer, PhD
Vice Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, School of Arts and Sciences
As the vice dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion, Brighid Dwyer, PhD,
provides leadership in pursuit of the School’s core commitments to achieving
and maintaining excellence through diversity. She has 20 years of experience
as a practitioner, scholar, and professor addressing issues of equity in higher
education. Before joining Penn in 2021, she served as associate dean for diversity
and inclusion at Princeton University, where she worked with a wide range of
campus partners to develop and implement strategies, programs, and curricula
that promoted an inclusive community.
Dr. Dwyer also spent seven years at Villanova University as Assistant Professor
in the Departments of Education and Counseling and the Department of
Communication and served as the Director of the Program on Intergroup
Relations (IGR) and Assistant Director of Research & Training. Prior to her time
at Villanova, Dr. Dwyer was an Adjunct Sociology Professor at Delaware County
Community College.
Dr. Dwyer has published numerous articles and book chapters on the topics
of diversity, equity, and inclusion, intergroup dialogue, leadership, and
organizational culture and identity at minority-serving institutions.
She serves on the boards of the Difficult Dialogues National Resource Center,
the New Leadership Academy, and Marin Academy High School.
Previously, Dr. Dwyer had a career in athletics. She served as an academic
advisor, coach, and administrator at UCLA, University of Michigan, the National
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los
Angeles, and the Black Women in Sport Foundation. She was a 2000 Olympic
Swimming Trials qualifier and an NCAA All-American. Presently, she consults with
USA Swimming on their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
Dr. Dwyer has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of California,
Los Angeles, and a master’s degree and a PhD from the Center for the Study of
Higher and Postsecondary Education at the University of Michigan.