Vincent L. Stephens (he/him/his) began as the Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion in the College of Arts & Sciences in January 2021. Dr. Stephens serves on the Dean’s cabinet to advise the dean, help define strategic priorities, and develop and implement policy to advance the College’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. He also provides strategic consultations for faculty, staff, and students, including concerns related to climate, hiring, creation of pipeline programs, and curriculum. Additionally, he oversees the Diversity and Inclusion Action Team formed in October 2020.

Dr. Stephens possesses an array of leadership skills in diversity, equity, and inclusion. He has served as the Director of the Popel Shaw Center for Race and Ethnicity at Dickinson College (2015-21) and Director of Multicultural Student Services (2011-15) at Bucknell University. Through these roles he has cultivated specialties in inclusive pedagogy techniques, equitable hiring practices, cultural conflict resolution, dialogue facilitation, and student retention and engagement, among other areas.

As Associate Dean he has presented at national conferences hosted by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), National Conference on Race & Ethnicity (NCORE), and Peer Mentoring Institute. Previously, he held leadership roles in the Pennsylvania Association of Liaisons and Officers of Multicultural Affairs (PALOMA) and the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Association for Multicultural Education (PA-NAME). He has written about inclusive pedagogy (Encyclopedia of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Spirituality),  peer mentoring (The Chronicle of Mentoring & Coaching), and high impact educational practices (National Forensic Journal).

An American Studies scholar, he completed his BS in Mass Communication/Print Journalism at Emerson College, MA in Popular Culture Studies at Bowling Green State University, and PhD in American Studies at the University of Maryland College Park. He is the author of 2025’s Broads, Sisters, Exes: Feminist Millennial Television (Wayne State University Press) and 2019’s Rocking the Closet: How Little Richard, Johnnie Ray, Liberace, and Johnny Mathis Queered Pop Music (University of Illinois Press), and co-editor of 2017’s Post Racial America? An Interdisciplinary Study (Bucknell University Press). His essays on popular culture have appeared in various peer-reviewed journals, anthologies, and encyclopedias. He is a Lecturer in the College of Fine Arts (CFA), and has also taught at multiple institutions, most recently as a Contributing Faculty member in the Department of Music at Dickinson College (Fall 2018-Fall 2020).