Keynote Speaker
Dr. Tia Brown McNair is a nationally recognized leader on inclusive excellence, high-impact practices, equity in student outcomes and institutional design, campus climate, and student success. She is currently a Partner at Sova, a company that facilitates transformative change through actionable strategies and practical implementation support. In her previous role at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) as the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Student Success and the Executive Director of the Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers, she directed numerous national projects, including developing partnerships with more than 70 institutions to establish TRHT Campus Centers and the creation of a TRHT-focused Campus Climate Toolkit. She directed AAC&U’s Summer Institutes on High-Impact Practices and Student Success, and Truth, Racial Healing, & Transformation Campus Centers. She is the co-author of the books From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education (January 2020) and Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success (July 2016 and July 2022 2nd Edition). McNair is the editor of Strengthening Campus Communities Through the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Framework published by Routledge in June 2024. McNair is a co-author on the publication Assessing Underserved Students’ Engagement in High-Impact Practices.
NASPA, the association of Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, named McNair the 2024 recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Higher Education Award. In May 2023, McNair received an honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, from Franklin Pierce University for her national work to dismantle a false belief in a hierarchy of human value and for her efforts to advance racial equity to support the success of all students. In March 2020, Diverse Issues in Higher Education named McNair one of thirty-five outstanding women who have tackled some of higher education’s toughest challenges, exhibited extraordinary leadership skills, and made a positive difference in their communities.
She currently serves on several boards and advisory groups, including The Washington Center, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s (HHMI) Center for the Advancement of Science and Leadership, and the Mandel Humanities Center at Tri-C in Ohio. She also serves as a consulting editor for Change Magazine.
Prior to joining SOVA, McNair served as the Assistant Director of the National College Access Network (NCAN) in Washington, DC. McNair’s previous experience also includes serving as a Social Scientist/Assistant Program Director in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources at the National Science Foundation (NSF), Director of University Relations at the University of Charleston in Charleston, West Virginia; the Statewide Coordinator for the Educational Talent Search Project at the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission; and the Interim Associate Director of Admissions and Recruitment Services at West Virginia State University. She has served as an adjunct faculty member at several institutions where she taught first-year English courses. McNair earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and English at James Madison University and holds an M.A. in English from Radford University and a doctorate in higher education administration from George Washington University.