marcia smith glasper --
Executive Assistant to the President, director of diversity and equity

For Marcia Smith Glasper, her appointment as the director of diversity and equity at Southern brings her back to a place of a childhood dream.

At the age of 9, her family moved from the Hill Section of New Haven to the Brookside area, just a few blocks from the university campus.

"My family and I used to drive by the campus frequently and I remember thinking, this is the place that I will be going to school someday," Glasper says.

She did, graduating in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism. Little did she know, however, that she would return some two decades later as an executive assistant to the university president.

"I have many fond memories of Southern as a student," Glasper says. "But I hadn't returned in about 20 years. It has been transformed in many ways, particularly with the new buildings. Now when you drive by in the evening, you can see all the lights, which is a sign of the vitality of the campus community."

It is this vitality, coupled with her warm feelings for her alma mater and a desire to enhance the diversity of the university that attracted Glasper back to Southern.

"In my previous jobs as the head of affirmative action compliance for non-profit organizations, my focus was on increasing the diversity of the workforce. While that is part of my responsibility here, I am able to help address student needs, as well," she says.

As an example, she points to the state and national nursing shortage and notes that there is a particular shortage of minority individuals in that field. Social work and teaching are two other areas in which that shortage is pronounced. Glasper says that she would like to be able to boost the numbers of minority students majoring in those fields.

She also is interested in programs to retain and mentor minority faculty and staff. "One of the keys to keeping faculty and staff is to create an environment where everyone feels welcome," she says.

President Cheryl J. Norton has high praise for Glasper and her background, noting that she has 15 years' experience in affirmative action, diversity and equal employment opportunity.

"Marcia's talents and experience, gained in a variety of backgrounds, serve Southern well in a position that is critical to the university," she says.

Glasper, an assistant pastor at Holy Ghost Deliverance Church in Hamden, most recently served as director of affirmative action for the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. She was previously diversity programs administrator for the state Department of Public Works. She also has been an adjunct professor at Housatonic Community College, teaching effective speaking and English composition classes.

She holds a master's degree in health services administration from Antioch New England Graduate School. She graduated from Bernelli University International Graduate School in 2000 with a dual degree in Religion and Government and she is president of the Connecticut Association of Affirmative Action Professionals.