The UMKC University Libraries are pleased to announce that Tracey Hughes has agreed to serve in a newly formed role as the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Libraries. Tracey is responsible for leading and facilitating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts that advance the Libraries’ values, vision, and mission with emphasis on sustained action and cultural transformation.
Tracey is excellently qualified for this role as she has been a leader in DEI initiatives in the Libraries, including her service as co-chair of the University Libraries’ Equity Committee and as co-chair of the African American Read-In Planning Committee. Tracey has also engaged in various DEI-related workshops and trainings on campus, assuming significant personal risk and investing her energy and time into helping others understand the lived experiences of a Black woman in Kansas City. She has also been an active member of nearly all of the Libraries’ initiatives related to DEI in her time at UMKC. Outside of her work at UMKC, Tracey currently serves on the Board of Directors and on the Inclusivity Committee for the Kansas City Roller Warriors flat track derby league, and she was selected to participate in the Anti-Racism Team Project, an advisory group of skaters and officials that is assisting the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association with their anti-racism efforts.
Gloria Tibbs, recently retired Librarian III, previously held this role as one aspect of her position with the Libraries; similarly, Tracey will continue in her current position as a Teaching & Learning Librarian and team lead for the Libraries’ integration of our instruction program into the UMKC General Education curriculum. Though the Libraries have much to do in the arena of DEI and the need far exceeds Tracey’s limited appointment, she will have the support of Associate Dean Sandy Rodriguez, Interim Dean Cindy Thompson, the Libraries’ Equity Committee, and many other members of the Libraries team.
Join us in thanking Tracey for taking on this critical mantle!
