MEDIA CONTACT: Lisa Freed
561-297-3022, lfreed@fau.edu
BOCA RATON, FL (August 28, 2008) – Maria Santamarina recently joined Florida Atlantic University as its diversity officer within the university’s department of human resources, and as an assistant professor in FAU’s department of communications and multimedia studies, located in the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters.
Santamarina was appointed by FAU President Frank T. Brogan to co-chair the university’s diversity committee along with Dr. Clevis Headley. The president’s diversity committee was formed out of the university’s strategic plan as an expressed goal to build world class academic programs and research capacity by adopting strategies that will institutionalize diversity among the university’s faculty and staff. As a diversity officer, Santamarina will develop and implement diversity trainings for the staff and administration in order to build a more inclusive campus environment.
“I am very excited in this new role, as I am looking forward to spearheading diversity issues campus wide” said Santamarina, who is certified to implement prejudice reduction workshops by the National Coalition Building Institute.
In her role as an instructor, Santamarina teaches “Leadership in Communication” and “Intercultural Communication” as part of the intercultural communication sequence in the department of communications and multimedia studies on FAU’s Davie campus. Since August 2007, Santamarina, as an adjunct professor, has been conducting prejudice reduction workshops in the classroom.
Santamarina is also a Florida bar-licensed attorney, with 11 years of grant writing experience. In writing federal, state, county, foundation and corporate grants, Santamarina has had more than $3.5 million in grant funding approved since 1997, with a success rate of 90 percent.
For more information, contact Dr. Maria Santamarina at 561-297-0938 or msantam3@fau.edu.
-FAU-
