New York, N.Y. (October 17, 2024) – Guttman Community College is excited to announce that Jewel Jones will join the organization as Chief Diversity Officer. A seasoned expert in equity, diversity and inclusion, Jones will leverage her experience in cultivating a learning and workplace climate that embraces and sustains diversity and inclusion.
“The Guttman community is excited to welcome a seasoned leader in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Jones brings extensive experience in ensuring compliance at local, state, and federal levels. She has successfully led affinity groups that achieved transformative results. I look forward to her collaboration with campus stakeholders to advance our strategic priorities in DEIB,” said Dr. Larry Johnson, president of Guttman Community College.
In this key role, Jones will be responsible for overseeing and managing the Office of Affirmative Action, Diversity & Compliance. She will be creating diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) programs, activities and initiatives designed to foster an environment that encourages respect for diversity amongst faculty, staff, and student groups. Jones will also counsel the College’s administration, faculty and staff regarding equal employment opportunity, affirmative action and related compliance procedures. A crucial aspect of the position will be aligning the objectives of diversity and compliance with the College’s mission.
To accomplish this, Jones will lean on her most recent experience as the associate director of compliance and diversity/deputy chief diversity officer/deputy Title IX coordinator at Hostos Community College-CUNY in the Bronx. There, she was instrumental in the creation of EDI and belonging programs, activities and initiatives, including her recent work on LGBTQIA+ consortium programming at the college. She spearheaded a variety of activities aligned with the college’s mission designed to foster a climate that encouraged respect for diversity amongst faculty, staff and student groups. Additionally, she has vast knowledge of city, state and federal statutes, including Title IX, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as relevant policies and procedures, such as CUNY’s Policy on Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination and the new Policy on Sex-Based Misconduct.
“I am very excited to join Guttman Community College,” said Ms. Jones. “I am excited by the fact that Guttman is a Minority Serving Institution. And I wholeheartedly support the College’s stated goal of ‘significantly improving student learning, retention and graduation by rethinking community college education and practice.’ These are ideals that align with my personal background and experiences as a person of color, as a female, as an advocate, as an educator and as a community leader who strives toward community and building bridges across various populations. And they are ideals that exist in both my personal life and my work life.”
A quote from Ruth Bader Ginsburg summarizes Jones’ outlook: “Fight for the things that you care about but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”
Jones considers herself an advocate, activist and staunch community leader. She serves on and is currently the chair of the community advisory board at NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan and is also a member of Community Board 11 as well as the mid-Manhattan branch of the NAACP, WeAct for Environmental Justice and the 23rd Precinct Community Council. Jones recently graduated from the Community Research Academy (CRA) at Weill Cornell Medicine’s Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC) and is proudly serving as a member of the CTSC’s Community Advisory Board.
Jones was born and raised in New York City and currently resides in East Harlem. She is a graduate of SUNY Stony Brook with a Bachelor of Arts degree and received a Master of Education from Brooklyn College.
Jones will start at Guttman on October 28. The Guttman community welcomes her and looks forward to collaborating with her to strengthen DEIB initiatives and ensure compliance with federal, state, and city regulations and University mandates.
Stella and Charles Guttman Community College was CUNY’s first new community college in more than forty years. Reimagining what community college could be, Guttman opened its doors in Manhattan in August 2012 to create a research-based, innovative model focused on moving students efficiently toward graduation. Offering associate degree programs in a nurturing environment, the College’s three-year graduation rate consistently surpasses the national average, and most graduates transfer to senior colleges. Guttman is federally designated as a Hispanic-serving institution and minority-serving institution with more than 85% of the student population identifying as Latine or Black/African American. The College was named the best community college in America in 2020 and the top community college in New York State for 2020, 2021 and 2022 by Niche.com and other ranking agencies.
