Lakia M. Scott started as the Assistant Provost for Faculty Development & Diversity in July 2023. Her professional background centers on urban and multicultural education where she has nearly two decades of experience in teaching K-12 and postsecondary populations.
In her role, she is responsible for managing reviews and providing training and consultation on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives specific to academic and administrative units. In addition, she works to extend and create programming to build a sense of community among faculty from diverse backgrounds with the goal of making Yale more successful in recruiting underrepresented faculty. Dr. Scott also supports the President’s and Trustee’s goals for engagement with HBCUs and institutions serving underrepresented populations by implementing the Vice Provost’s plan for faculty collaboration and partnerships. Her duties also include facilitating new faculty orientation, cohort-building events, and mentorship programs, as well as supporting faculty search processes and assisting in managing faculty tenure and promotion reviews for professional schools.
Prior to this appointment, she worked as a tenured Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction and Graduate Program Director for the Department of Curriculum and Instruction within the School of Education at Baylor University. Her research has focused on providing educational access, equity, and opportunity to underrepresented groups. During her time at Baylor, she also served as the founding executive director of the Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools Program, a six-week learning initiative that reduces summer learning loss among minoritized elementary, middle, and secondary students.
Dr. Scott received her BA in Communications from Texas Southern University. She holds a MSED in Reading from Prairie View A&M University. She completed her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.