Meet the Vice President
Shá Duncan Smith is the Vice President for Inclusive Excellence at Santa Clara University. Prior to working at Santa Clara University, Shá served as the Assistant Vice President and Dean of Inclusive Excellence and Community Development at Swarthmore College. In her role at Swarthmore College, Shá provided strategic direction for diversity, equity and inclusion policies and initiatives for students, faculty and staff.
Previously, Shá has held a variety of progressively responsible leadership roles at Swarthmore College, University of Michigan, and the University of Southern California Race and Equity Center. She has over 20 years of experience developing and implementing strategic plans and initiatives to promote diverse, equitable and inclusive cultures for students, faculty and staff. She has collaborated as a thought, strategy and action partner with higher education institutions, nonprofit organizations and Fortune 100 companies to assess, evaluate and reimagine strategic
initiatives, organizational cultures and structures, programs and initiatives, and assessment processes. Shá’s continued commitment to anchoring diversity, equity and inclusion at the heart of organizational change and culture is demonstrated in her work in developing training and learning modules to build intercultural capacity and critical consciousness within organizations.
Shá is completing her doctorate in higher education management at University of Pennsylvania. She holds both a master’s of social work and a bachelor of arts in sociology from University of Michigan.
She spent her formative years in Michigan and most recently relocated to Santa Clara from the Philadelphia area. Currently, Shá resides in Santa Clara with her partner Tony and four children.