MORGANTOWN — West Virginia University Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Meshea L. Poore recently was named the new president of the Big 12 Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education.
Poore said she is honored to be elected to the position.
"The Big 12 Conference and each of our institutions are doing significant work as it relates to diversity, equity and inclusion. I look forward to serving in this role with the outstanding leaders in the association and the conference," Poore said in an interview with The West Virginia Record.
Poore said the association works to bring communities together.
“At its heart, the Big 12 Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education aims to make our communities stronger, with opportunities for every individual to thrive as their best self," Poore said. "My life’s work and commitment has been working with individuals to recognize and correct inequality/inequity, advocate for the unheard and improve life within the communities that surround us all."
Poore is an attorney who served in the House of Delegates from 2009 to 2014, and she has teaching privileges at WVU College of Law. In 2017, Poore became the first Black woman named president of the West Virginia State Bar since its founding in 1947. Prior to operating her own practice, she worked as a public defender in Kanawha County. She earned her bachelor's degree from Howard University and her law degree from Southern University Law Center.
She said she is excited about the work she will be doing as part of the association.
“I along with my colleagues in the Big 12 look forward to continuing working with Commissioner Bob Bowlsby as they engage in important conversations that affect everyone from student-athletes to faculty and staff and into the broader communities our institutions call home,” Poore said.
As president of the association, Poore will work with all of the chief diversity officers in the conference. The outgoing president, Dr. Carol A. Sumner, said in a news release that she had previously worked with Poore and was looking forward to her work in the new role.
“It has been my honor to serve alongside Meshea this past year and to now celebrate her as the President of the Big 12 Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education,” Sumner said. “She is an incredible champion for DEI and leader for her campus community and beyond. Meshea has been working to build connections across the Big 12 and we are elated that she will be leading us forward. Her compassion, commitment and care for those who are doing the work of DEI and impacted by the same will be reflected in her leadership of the chapter, across the conference, and as a part of NADOHE.”
