Binghamton University appoints Jones as VP for diversity, equity, and inclusion

Jones, who earned her bachelor’s degree from SUNY Buffalo State College and her doctorate from the University at Buffalo, has worked in both corporate and higher-education environments.

She most recently served as the chief diversity officer at SUNY Buffalo State College, Jones also has experience in civil-rights compliance, equity initiatives, and human-resources strategies at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, St. John Fisher College, and SUNY Brockport.

Her experience in corporate settings includes work with Excellus BlueCross BlueShield.

“Karen has the expertise and experience to further the advancement of equity and inclusion efforts for our students, faculty and staff,” Harvey Stenger, president of Binghamton University, said. “She brings a wealth of experience and wisdom to our campus.”

“My hope is to showcase the work that’s being done at Binghamton because a lot of work has been done,” Jones said. “I hope to continue to highlight the relationships that we have in addition to pulling school diversity directors together so we can strategize and utilize our resources as one.”

Jones, who plans listening tours with multiple constituencies, looks to partner with them, the school said.

Jones went on to say, “I want Binghamton University to be viewed as an institution that continues to value diversity and is well respected for its continued work to address diversity. Nothing is broken here, but how do we further position the work that’s being done. If we think about the mission of the institution and focus on that, that’s how we come together.”