Leadership

Dr. Rob Shelby
Chief Diversity Officer
University Center, Room 261
812-488-5260
rs262@evansville.edu
Dr. Shelby serves as the Chief Diversity Officer at the University of Evansville. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Louisville in applied sociology. As a former assistant professor of sociology, he taught several core courses, including Race and Ethnic Relations and Community Organization. Under his leadership, the Director of the Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion provides intercultural training and cultural events, addresses concerns related to sexual harassment, discrimination, and bias, and fosters spiritual formation and vocational understanding.

Dr. Valerie Stein
Professor of Religious Studies / Program Director, Ethics & Social Change / Program Director, Race & Ethnicity Studies
Olmsted Hall, Room 341
812-488-1103
vs9@evansville.edu

Mrs. Erin Lewis
Executive Director for Center for Innovation and Change
Ridgway University Center, Room 273
812-488-5002
el131@evansville.edu
Design Thinking Certifications: Henry Ford Learning Institute, IBM Practitioner
Erin Lewis joined the Center for Innovation & Change in June 2015 as a program director, became interim director in 2019, and was appointed executive director in 2021. Prior to joining the Center, she served as former United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's Director of Outreach at iCivics, directing its national field networks, communications and partnerships. She also served as a Research Assistant at the Indiana University Public Policy Institute, Indiana's Director of Civic Education for six years, and is a former United States Marine, having completed Officer Candidate School in Quantico. She obtained her Masters of Public Affairs in Policy Analysis with Honors from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI. While there, she helped create the Center for Civic Literacy, and completed IU's rigorous Oxford University comparative climate change summer program in England. In 2013, she was one of only three graduate students to receive the William M. Plater Civic Engagement Medallion for service to the community. She also serves as advisor to UE's Dance Company and the Alpha Phi Omega co-ed service fraternity, and is a proud UE alumna - having received her B.S. in Political Science and Psychology from the University of Evansville in 2001. In 2018-2019, she was named UE's Administrator of the Year, and is a member of UE's Coronavirus Task Force, which collectively received the President's Distinguished Service Award for excellence in leadership and guidance during the pandemic.

Ms. Abagail Catania
Assistant Director of Diversity Recruitment and Programming
812-488-5263
ac532@evansville.edu
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Mr. Robert Lopez
ChangeLab Student Executive for the Center for Innovation and Change
University Center, CFIC
rl138@evansville.edu