IEI names next Diversity Research Network director
August 17, 2026 - Jabbar R. Bennett, Ph.D.
The Office for Inclusive Excellence and Impact, or IEI, is pleased to announce Delia Fernández-Jones, Ph.D., as the new Director of the Diversity Research Network, or DRN, effective Aug. 16.
Dr. Fernández-Jones is an Associate Professor of history and an experienced administrator whose scholarship and leadership have focused on supporting faculty, expanding opportunity and strengthening the connection between research and the communities it serves. She succeeds Dr. Deborah J. Johnson, the inaugural DRN Director, who led the development of this university-wide resource for connecting scholars, supporting faculty and advancing research with meaningful societal impact.
Dr. Fernández-Jones brings to this role a deep understanding of Michigan State University, a strong record of faculty leadership and a commitment to research that serves the public good. She understands firsthand the value of the DRN and the community it has built. She will bolster the strong foundation established by Dr. Johnson while continuing to evolve the network to meet the needs of MSU researchers.
Dr. Fernández-Jones has served since 2024 on the College of Arts & Letters Dean’s Senior Leadership Team as Associate Dean of Inclusive Access and Faculty Affairs. In that role, she has supported faculty affairs and governance, helped lead college-wide initiatives and guided the college through evolving university and federal guidance, and served on both the Council of Inclusive Access Deans and Council of Faculty Affairs Deans. She previously held leadership roles in MSU’s Chicano/Latino Studies Program and Womxn of Color Initiative. As a core faculty member in the Chicano/Latino Studies Program, Dr. Fernández-Jones studies Latino migration, activism and placemaking in the Midwest. She is the author of "Making the MexiRican City: Mexican and Puerto Rican Migration, Activism, and Placemaking in Grand Rapids, Michigan" (University of Illinois Press, 2023), as well as award-winning scholarship on Latines in Michigan.
As Director, Dr. Fernández-Jones will work with DRN Assistant Director Micaela Flores to strengthen the network’s support for researchers across disciplines and career stages, foster connections and collaboration, and identify new ways to meet researchers’ evolving needs.
Born and raised in Grand Rapids, Dr. Fernández-Jones is a first-generation college graduate who earned her bachelor’s degree from Grand Valley State University and her master’s and doctoral degrees in history from The Ohio State University. Her commitment to public history extends beyond MSU through initiatives including the Grandville Avenue Historical Marker Program and Preserving Nuestra Herencia. She also serves on the Michigan Historical Commission and the board of the Historical Society of Michigan.
IEI extends its appreciation to the search committee for its leadership and thoughtful work throughout the process. The committee was co-chaired by Terah Venzant Chambers, Professor and Associate Dean in The Graduate School, and Matt Olovson, Director of Equal Opportunity in the Office for Inclusive Excellence and Impact. Committee members included Kristin Arola, Gillmor Endowed Professor of Professional and Public Writing and Director of the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program; Julian Chambliss, Professor of English in the College of Arts and Letters and Val Berryman Curator of History at the MSU Museum; Nizar Lajnef, Professor and Associate Chair for Graduate Studies in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the College of Engineering; and Teresa Mastin, Vice Provost and Associate Vice President for Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs.
Please join IEI in welcoming Dr. Fernández-Jones to her new role and celebrating the next chapter of DRN!
Jabbar R. Bennett, Ph.D.
Vice President and Chief Inclusion Officer
Professor of Medicine, College of Human Medicine