December 6, 2022 - Dr. Joseph Morales Named Chief Diversity Officer

Dear Campus Community,

Dr. Joseph Morales has been selected as Chico State’s Chief Diversity Officer after a nationwide search. He will join our campus community on January 17, 2023.

This is an exciting milestone for our campus as the CDO will for the first time be a Cabinet position, providing counsel and collaborating with my administrative team. Dr. Morales brings to Chico State an impressive background in equity, diversity, and inclusion work from University of California, Irvine, where he has served as a member of the leadership team in the Office of Inclusive Excellence. His responsibilities include advancing student success, deepening and expanding UCI’s relationships with other Minority Serving Institutions, and advocating for inclusive excellence locally, regionally, and nationally.

Dr. Morales began his educational path at a California community college as a first-generation, low-income student. He earned a PhD in ethnic studies from University of California, Berkeley, and is a founding faculty member of the Cal State Long Beach/Long Beach Unified School District Ethnic Studies Initiative. I look forward to the progress Chico State will make on our equity, diversity, and inclusion priorities under Dr. Morales’ leadership.

Dr. Morales shares this with campus: “I believe in the power of education to transform lives. It’s an honor and a dream come true to serve as Chico State’s new Chief Diversity Officer. My personal experience, my trajectory through higher education, and my previous work as a professional shape my daily life, help me to think always from an empathetic point of view, and drive me to put equity-minded values and practices at the center of higher education’s mission.”

I am grateful to the search committee for their work to bring three strong finalists to campus. I also wish to thank Michelle Morris for her dedication and commitment to advancing our campus EDI programs when she served as interim CDO in the 2021–22 academic year.

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Morales to our campus.

Sincerely,

Gayle E. Hutchinson

President