DDI Good News | February 2023
You’ll see several new faces within DDI this February and we are excited to welcome them!
Sherry Bigelow is joining us on February 13th as the new administrative assistant to the vice president and associate provost for Diversity and Inclusion. Bigelow has over 10 years of experience serving as the administrative assistant to the vice president and director of Manufacturing for Wegmans. Most recently she has worked as an advisor in Student Financial Aid since 2021 at RIT.
Allison Cerone is very excited to be joining the Office of Faculty Diversity and Recruitment as a senior staff assistant. She attended Nazareth College for Music Business and has worked mainly in customer service for the last 6 years. Most recently she was a patient account representative in medical billing. In her free time, she enjoys reading and spending time with her rescue pets.
A warm welcome to Robert Hoggard. He is the new director of the Multicultural Center for Academic Success (MCAS). His first day was February 1st. Hoggard most recently worked with RIT's Division of Advancement, helping to strengthen a partnership with DDI and making connections with student leaders and professional staff within our Division and Student Affairs. Hoggard is very involved on campus, working as an RIT 365 facilitator, interacting with students in the MOCHA program, the SOIS Gap Year Fellow’s program and focusing on increasing engagement with AALANA alumni. Hoggard earned his Master of Arts degree from Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School and is currently working on his Doctor of Education (ABD) from the University of Rochester.
Jessica Saltzberg is the new associate director of Student Success and Engagement with MCAS, after an almost decade long career at Monroe Community College in many capacities, most recently as the coordinator for the Pathways to College and Strong Foundations programs. Saltzberg launched and grew both programs, helping hundreds of students complete foundational courses in English, ESOL and math, and hundreds of other students work toward their high school equivalency diploma through college credit. She earned her Master's degree in Interdisciplinary Humanities from the University at Buffalo, where she also pursued a PhD in American Studies (ABD). In her free time, she enjoys running, hiking, and spending time with her very busy three and five year children.
We bid farewell to:
Ada Rodriguez-Elliott, administrative assistant to the Vice President and Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion retired on January 2023. Ada served RIT for more than 18 years through the Office of Government Affairs, NTID and the Division of Diversity and Inclusion. We wish her all the best in retirement.
JoVonna Victor assistant director, McNair Scholars left RIT on January 13th. We thank her for her dedication and outstanding contributions to our students.