Published on August 19, 2020 by Sarah Cain  
2020 21 Marketing Belltower Thomas Photo Collage PRESS

Samford University’s Office of Diversity and Intercultural Initiatives recently announced two new positions to lead its expanding work across campus.

Jenée Spencer has been promoted to the director of diversity education and development. In this role, Spencer will continue to coordinate the IMPACT Peer Mentoring Program, the Diversity Ambassadors, cultural programming, community partnerships and additional support for culturally-centered student organizations. She will also develop and facilitate a variety of diversity education modules and tools for students and employees to continue efforts in sustaining an inclusive university environment.

Spencer graduated from Samford with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 2013 and a Master of Science in Educational Leadership: Policy, Organizations and Leadership in 2018. She is as the adviser for the Black Student Union and a member of the Staff Advisory Council. Additionally, she serves as the chair of membership and recruitment for the Junior Board of the Samford University Legacy League.  

Cameron Thomas, formerly a member of Samford’s undergraduate admissions team, has been appointed the director of diversity enrichment and relations. Thomas will oversee the development of enhanced and diverse curricula across all undergraduate and graduate programs, manage office-sponsored diversity development grants, work with university deans to assess and formulate opportunities for diverse candidate pools in hiring, and work to increase minority alumni engagement. In addition, he will teach in the core curriculum.  Thomas holds two degrees from Samford, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in religion in 2014 and Master of Divinity in 2018. 

“I am excited about the development of these two new positions in the Office of Diversity and Intercultural Initiatives,” said Denise Gregory, Assistant Provost for Diversity and Intercultural Initiatives. “These investments will have an immediate impact on our mission to engage the Samford community in multicultural programming as we work to achieve greater diversity and cross-cultural understanding on our campus.”  

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.