Kendra N. Cadogan named Oswego's interim chief diversity and inclusion officer

Cadogan will lead the implementation of the college’s strategic diversity and inclusion goals

OSWEGO, N.Y.  (Jan. 10, 2022) -- SUNY Oswego Officer-in-Charge Dr. Mary C. Toale has announced the appointment of Kendra N. Cadogan as the college’s interim Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer (CDIO) and interim director of the Institute for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Transformative Practice. She will join the SUNY Oswego campus community on Jan. 13, 2022. Cadogan succeeds Dr. Rodmon King, who will depart campus later this month to assume a new role at Connecticut College.

In this position, Cadogan will be responsible for leading the implementation of the college’s strategic diversity and inclusion goals; coordinating the activities of the Institute for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Transformative Practice; and contributing to the continued cultivation, enhancement and promotion of an environment of equity and inclusion for all at SUNY Oswego. She will serve as a member of the President’s Council and will provide counsel on all matters pertaining to diversity and inclusive excellence on campus.

"Kendra’s experience in fostering diversity and inclusion in professional and academic settings, coupled with her background in developing innovative strategies to create equity and promote cultural competency among all stakeholders, have prepared her to make immediate contributions as our interim CDIO," said SUNY Oswego Officer-in-Charge Dr. Mary C. Toale. "I am confident her commitment to inclusive excellence for all will permeate our campus community as we continue to come together in our collective pursuit of justice and equality."

Most recently, Cadogan served as the Senior Associate for Program and Policy Evaluation at the State University of New York. In this System Administration role, she provided leadership for system-wide scholarship and fellowship initiatives including creating program policies, creating/improving infrastructure and providing guidance on best practices to help campuses recruit, retain and graduate academically talented underrepresented minority students. Cadogan managed fiscal planning for the Graduate Diversity Fellowship Program, Empire State Diversity Honors Scholarship Program, Diversity Abroad, Doctoral Diversity Fellowships in STEM and the Faculty Diversity Program, administering $7.2 million of New York State funding earmarked for support of talented, high-achieving students of diverse backgrounds across more than 50 SUNY campuses; assessed programs and initiatives designed to enhance recruitment, retention and campus climate for students, faculty and staff from diverse and underrepresented groups across all 64 SUNY campuses; supported the SUNY Chief Diversity Officer and presidents and chief diversity officers across the system during racial incidents, student protests and community unrest; and spearheaded programs, services and initiatives designed to enhance the recruitment, retention of, and climate for students, faculty and staff from diverse and underrepresented groups across all 64 SUNY campuses.

“I am so excited and honored to join Oswego’s leadership team and help continue the important work begun by President Deborah F. Stanley, Dr. Rodmon King, and so many others,” said Cadogan. “With a deliberate culture of top-down leadership around issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion, and the recent opening of the Institute for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Transformative Practice, Oswego is truly at the cutting edge of practice and innovation in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) work.”

Cadogan added, “I’m really looking forward to engaging students, faculty, staff and the surrounding community in exploring and addressing the DEI issues that impact our daily lives.”

Prior to her time working in the SUNY System, Cadogan served as the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the University at Buffalo School of Law, where she developed a broad range of programs and services that promoted diversity and inclusion; improved the DEI climate within the law school community and throughout the greater Western New York legal community; and implemented outreach, academic support and enrichment and mentoring programs with internal and external stakeholders designed to increase underrepresented minority recruitment, retention and satisfaction among students, faculty and staff. She also previously served as an Academic Advisor/Coordinator for the Daniel Acker Scholars Program at the University at Buffalo and was a Resident Director at SUNY Brockport.

Cadogan is a graduate of the SUNY System. She earned her master of education and bachelor of arts degrees in psychology and sociology from the University at Buffalo. In addition, she has served on numerous diversity, equity and wellness committees, including the University Faculty Senate Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Committee at SUNY System Administration as well as the Inclusive Climate and Culture Committee, Wellness and Equity Task Force and the First-Generation Students and Families Collaborative at the University at Buffalo. She participated in the SUNY SAIL 2020 Winter Leadership Retreat: Leading Culturally Intelligent and Inclusive Campuses, and the University at Buffalo’s Collaborative Performance Management program.