Austin Peay’s Dr. Kallina Dunkle wins Inclusion Champion Award for DEI work

By: Colby Wilson January 19, 2024

Photo: From the left, College of STEM Dean Karen Meisch, Chief of Institutional Culture LaNeeça Williams, Dr. Kallina Dunkle and Mary Biggers, academic associate to the deans.

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Dr. Kallina Dunkle, associate dean for the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and professor of geology at Austin Peay State University, received the Inclusion Champion Award at Monday’s second annual Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast.

The Austin Peay Institutional Culture Committee gave the award to Dr. Dunkle, recognizing her significant contributions to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) on campus. Specifically, Dunkle helped establish the CoSTEM Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee in 2020, which has worked to gather campuswide data on diversity, sponsor inclusion events and recommend improvements to the university's climate.

“All the work Kallina has done, not just in DEI but being a supportive faculty member and associate dean on this campus... we hear all the time about how she wants to bring things together and collaborate across campus,” said LaNeeça Williams, Austin Peay’s chief of institutional culture and Title IX coordinator. “That’s vital to the work of DEI. She is responsible for and influential with a group of people that have skin in the game and want to do the necessary work to support students, faculty and staff. We couldn’t think of anyone more deserving than Kallina for all her hard work the last few years.”

Under her leadership, the committee has collected campuswide survey data, sponsored seminars on critical topics, promoted cross-college collaboration and explored funding opportunities to advance CoSTEM's diversity and inclusion goals.

"I'm grateful for this honor, but the credit also belongs to our dedicated committee members and university partners who have driven this work," Dunkle said. "We have more to accomplish, but I'm hopeful our current initiatives can lead to meaningful, long-term changes in CoSTEM and beyond."

As a geology professor, Dunkle teaches courses on water quality, groundwater, environmental issues and glaciers. She conducts research on local water contamination, flooding, sinkholes and other geological challenges in the Clarksville area.

Dunkle participated as a featured guest at the 2023 Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast on Jan. 15, which moved to a virtual event due to inclement weather in the Clarksville area. The Honorable Judge Camille McMullen (’93) served as the event’s keynote speaker.