New Assistant Dean Provides Leadership in Diversity, Residential Services

Dahlia Ashford, M.S., has started her new role as Assistant Dean of Students for Diversity, Inclusion, and Residential Services at Shenandoah University.

I am excited about becoming a part of the Shenandoah community. I have been welcomed into a huge family. The first people whom I met upon arriving on campus were warm and welcoming.”

Dahlia Ashford, M.S. | Assistant Dean of Students for Diversity, Inclusion, and Residential Services

Ashford, of Moss Point, Mississippi, will provide senior leadership in the areas of residential services, student conduct, The Mosaic Center for Diversity, and the [Not Just] Women’s Center. She will be responsible for implementing diversity initiatives that enhance retention and persistence through to graduation, as well as life skills development for underrepresented students. She will also work with senior leadership and campus partners to support high-quality, customer-service-focused housing operations.

My goals are to develop relationships within the Shenandoah community that will prove beneficial to our students. I plan to increase the retention efforts for our underrepresented populations. Our students need us more than ever, and I hope that Shenandoah University proves to be a place where students can flourish and become productive global citizens.”

Dahlia Ashford, M.S. | Assistant Dean of Students for Diversity, Inclusion, and Residential Services

Ashford received a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from Mississippi State University and a Master of Science in College Student Personnel Services and Administration from the University of Central Arkansas. She has more than 11 years of experience in higher education, including as residence life coordinator at Eastern Kentucky University, hall director at Virginia Commonwealth University, and academic outreach specialist with the College Access Initiative for the Center for Multicultural and Diversity Education and the Office of Diversity & Inclusion for the Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville.

Her most recent experience was at North Carolina A&T State University, where she served as an assistant director for residential education in an area consisting of 1,100 first-year students.

We are so excited to have Dahlia join our Shenandoah family and the Division of Student Affairs as our new chief diversity officer. She is both diligent and committed in her pursuit of ensuring that students succeed, whether that’s through diversity and retention initiatives or overseeing housing operations. As a driven individual, she understands that everyone deserves the opportunity to achieve success.”

Yolanda Barbier Gibson, D.A. | Vice President for Student Affairs