Dr. Sergio Pérez has been chosen to join Southern Connecticut State University as its new Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Perez has compiled an impressive resume of dynamic leadership in DEI since 2016 at Loras College in Dubuque, Ia. – most recently heading the College Diversity Office and acting as an advisor to the president. In this role, Perez was charged with overseeing the institutional diversity committee, with a focus of improving the campus climate and research opportunities for Black, Latinx, and LGBTQIA+ identifying students.
Perez has a wide range of experience supporting undocumented scholars and those with intersectional identities. Under his leadership, the Loras College Center for Inclusion & Advocacy was awarded the 2019 NASPA Region IV Award for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and received Honorable Mention for the 2020 NCAA Inclusion Award.
The DEI committee chair for Iowa’s League of United Latin American Citizens, the country’s oldest and largest civil rights group for Latinos, Perez serves as a member of LULAC’s National LGBTQIA+ Affairs Committee. For the last two years, he was named National LULAC’s Advisor of the Year by the organization in Albuquerque, NM, and Las Vegas, NV.
Interim President Dwayne Smith said that Perez’s “energy and expertise will be invaluable at a time when many aspects of our work at Southern face challenges from new federal directives. A strong DEI team will play a vital role in helping us to reaffirm and strengthen our historic commitment to Southern’s social justice-driven mission of access, equity, and inclusion.”
Perez will begin his new senior leadership role on May 30, 2025.
