Equity and diversity leader Sylvia Carey-Butler to step down after three years of accomplishment

Among many achievements, Carey-Butler appointed the inaugural HBCU Presidential Fellow and stewarded convenings with presidents of other HBCUs, solidifying Brown's standing as a national model for cultural and academic exchange. This included reinvigorating the University's pioneering partnership with Tougaloo College. Earlier this year, Carey-Butler led the Brown-Tougaloo Partnership's 60th anniversary celebration at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington.

Paxson noted that Carey-Butler embodied the principles of collaboration and shared commitment to making an impact, with a focus on building partnerships across campus. She worked with the John D. Rockefeller Library to launch "Building A Bridge Back to Brown," an oral history project that captured the lived experiences of Black alumni, and she established a DEI Partners Group with colleagues across the institution.

Carey-Butler said that cultivating a community of practice for sharing effective initiatives for advancing diversity and inclusion efforts has been a particular area of emphasis. In her three years on campus, she met with hundreds of students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and prospective students to advance and support inclusivity across the University. She established the Global Day of Inclusion to provide workshops that facilitate DEI skill-building for staff; co-hosted a symposium on the lives and legacies of Lani Guinier and bell hooks in partnership with the Department of Africana Studies; and enhanced educational and training offerings for students, faculty and staff.

"I'm truly thankful for the opportunity to serve in this role at Brown," Carey-Butler said. "I believe we were able to accomplish a great deal, particularly at a time when so many institutions are being compelled to scale back efforts in this area. I have especially enjoyed working with faculty, staff and students in a community so committed to the importance of diversity. I know Brown will continue to be successful as the University advances diversity, equity and inclusion."

Prior to coming to Brown, Carey-Butler built a career as a leader in strategic planning and innovative initiatives in diversity and inclusion at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and the United Negro College Fund. She also held numerous positions in higher education in New York state and served as assistant provost and dean of honors at Dillard University in New Orleans and as associate dean of studies at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.

Carey-Butler's last day at Brown will be Oct. 31, 2024, and Paxson said the University will conduct a national search for her successor.