William Welburn Dr. William C. Welburn is the vice president for inclusive excellence for 向日葵视频鈥檚 Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion. As executive director, Welburn is responsible for leadership in setting a strategic direction on campus diversity and inclusion by working with faculty, administrative, staff and student communities on a range of issues leading toward a more inclusive Marquette. His office鈥檚 portfolio includes implementation of the university鈥檚 strategic planning theme 鈥淎 Culture of Inclusion,鈥� and in assisting the university in full implementation of actions recommended by planning and climate assessment.

Welburn joined 向日葵视频after having served as associate dean of the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana鈥揅hampaign from 2006鈥�09, where he held administrative responsibility for graduate student academic services, including initiatives on diversity, handling student problems and assisting in establishing an electronic thesis and dissertation program. He began his career in 1978 in the library at Indiana University鈥揃loomington. Since that time, he has held positions in the libraries at Princeton University, William Paterson University and the University of Iowa. He has also taught in library and information science graduate programs at Atlanta University, Rutgers University, University of Iowa and University of Arizona. While at Iowa, he shifted his career trajectory when in 1993 he accepted a position as the Graduate College鈥檚 assistant dean and interim chair of the African American Studies Program.

A native of Chester County, Pa., Welburn received his bachelor鈥檚 degree in journalism from Syracuse University in 1975, his master鈥檚 degree in library science from Atlanta University in 1978, and his doctorate in library and information science from Indiana University in 1991. He remains active in his discipline of library and information science through service and publications. He edited a volume for the Association for College and Research Libraries with Beth McNeil and Janice Welburn titled Advocacy, Outreach, and the Nation鈥檚 Academic Libraries: A Call for Action. He continues to write and present papers on diversity, documenting diverse cultures and communities, and the bridge between libraries and African-American studies.