Chief Diversity Officer, 2010-

The position of Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) was created (under this name) by Middlebury College President Ronald Liebowitz in 2010, upon the return of Shirley Collado to the college. Collado also served as Dean of the College, and announced her resignation from both positions in 2014.
Professor of Spanish, Miguel Fernandez, began serving in the position in 2015.
The CDO helps to maintain a diverse and welcoming community, serving as an advisor, advocate, and institutional resource to promote equality and inclusion in every aspect of educational, residential, and professional life at Middlebury College.
The CDO serves on the president's senior leadership team and contributes to strategic institutional discussions and planning; collaborates with campus colleagues to identify policies and practices supporting the recruitment and retention of faculty, staff, and students from historically underrepresented groups; represents Middlebury College on the Creating Connections Consortium (C3) executive committee and collaborates with the provost to implement best practices from this project; serves as liaison to the Liberal Arts Diversity Officers consortium (LADO); serves as liaison to the Posse Foundation for Middlebury College, working with the dean of the faculty to identify and recruit Posse mentors and supervising the Posse program on campus; builds and supports initiatives, policies, and practices that promote a culture of inclusion, support full participation, and foster conversations that promote open dialogue and raise sensitive, and, at times, uncomfortable topics; defines and creates new structures to ensure effective collaboration of students, faculty, and staff working on diversity and equity issues across campus; expands and deepens discussions about the value of diversity, equity, inclusion, and related issues in our curriculum, mentoring and advising programs, pedagogical approaches, research, and service; and consults on matters of diversity, equity, and inclusion with directors, faculty, and staff of the Language Schools, Bread Loaf School of English, Schools Abroad, and Middlebury Institute.