Wayne Gersie will join Quinnipiac University as the vice president of equity and inclusion July 31, university President Judy Olian announced in a July 5 email to the Quinnipiac community. 

Gersie is succeeding Don Sawyer, who left Quinnipiac on June 30 after serving 11 years as an associate professor of sociology and four years as the vice president for equity, inclusion and leadership.

According to Quinnipiac’s website, Gersie’s role will include developing and executing programs that advance diversity, equity, inclusion, community and social justice in the community. He will also be a part of the management committee, which is a group of senior administrators that oversee the strategic operations at the university. 

Prior to his role at Quinnipiac, Gersie was the inaugural vice president of diversity and inclusion and a research assistant professor in the department of cognitive and learning sciences at Michigan Technological University. 

He also served as an assistant research professor and the chief diversity officer for the Applied Research Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University and as the director of the multicultural engineering program at Penn State’s College of Engineering. 

Gersie received his bachelor’s in exercise and sports medicine, master’s in counselor education and doctoral degree in workforce education and development from Penn State.  

He also earned professional certificates from Harvard University Institute for Management and Leadership Education, the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the Center for Creative Leadership in Colorado Springs, Colorado.