McClung to lead campus diversity, equity and inclusion efforts

Kiwana McClung has been named the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's interim chief diversity officer.

She succeeds Taniecea A. Mallery, who recently accepted a position as senior director of equity, diversion and inclusion for the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington, D.C.

McClung is an associate professor in the School of Architecture and Design. She has earned national recognition for developing initiatives to increase diversity in architecture programs and curricula. McClung was the driving force in creating undergraduate and graduate courses for the school that blend design concepts with social equity and inclusion considerations.

Her research interests include diversity in design education, the impact of design and spatial considerations in societies that are increasingly becoming multicultural, and equity concerns in communities that have been impacted by flooding.

McClung has lectured and written widely about issues such as decolonizing architectural pedagogies, the impact of faculty diversity on student success, race and gender, recruitment and retention of minority students, and social empowerment.

She is academic and research coordinator for the Louisiana chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects; McClung is also faculty advisor for NOMA’s student chapter on campus. She earned a Leadership Service Award from the UL Lafayette Foundation earlier this year during its Eminent Faculty Awards.

“Professor McClung is a proven leader, an educator, researcher and mentor who’s demonstrated a strong commitment to ensuring that underrepresented groups have equal access to educational opportunities,” said Dr. Joseph Savoie, University president.

McClung, who is from Baton Rouge, La., earned a bachelor’s degree in arts and humanities from Southern University in 2008, and a master’s of architecture from LSU in 2012. She has worked in industry as an architectural designer. McClung joined UL Lafayette in 2013.

“I saw higher education as an avenue where I could make a difference – as a teacher, through research, with student organizations, and in advising the School of Architecture and Design about diversity initiatives,” she explained.

“I look forward to doing that on a broader scale.”

Photo caption: Kiwana McClung has been named the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s interim chief diversity officer. Photo credit: Rachel Rafati / University of Louisiana at Lafayette