The University of Iowa announced Thursday that Liz Tovar has been appointed interim associate vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and Tabitha Wiggins has been appointed interim director of the Center for Diversity and Enrichment.

Tovar, associate athletics director for student-athlete academic services, will begin her full-time role on Aug. 17, where she will continue to engage with the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Wiggins, associate director of Multicultural and International Student Support and Engagement, began her new role on Aug. 4.

Both were appointed by UI Interim Provost Kevin Kregel.

As previously reported by The Daily Iowan, the UI began its search for a new associate vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion in April. The role was left vacant by TaJuan Wilson, who held the position for less than two months before resigning in August 2019.

The search for a permanent replacement for this role is expected to conclude in spring 2021, according to a Thursday news release.

Wiggins replaces former Center for Diversity and Enrichment leader Nadine Petty, who accepted a position in June as chief diversity officer and associate vice president for community, equity, and diversity at the University of New Hampshire.

Petty, who was co-chair of the committee tasked with finding a permanent associate vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion, told the DI in June that she didn’t believe her departure from the UI would cause any roadblocks in campus efforts to be more inclusive.

Since arriving at the UI in 2011, Wiggins has served on numerous campus committees, including as co-chair of the Campus Inclusion Team.

Tovar received her undergraduate, masters, and doctorate degrees at Kansas University, where she began a career in academic services in 1998. She also worked at The Ohio State University and Northern Illinois University, before coming to the UI in 2013.

“Dr. Tovar has demonstrated great capacity for guiding and uplifting both students and her colleagues,” Kregel said in the release. “I am happy to welcome her to a new position and excited to work with her.”

Kregel thanked Tovar for taking on her new role, during what he called “a particularly challenging time.”

“Our community is not exempt from the systemic disparities and harms that current events bring to the public eye, and although we are welcoming a new leader, we must remember that the responsibility for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion belongs to us all,” he said.

In UI Athletics, Tovar supervised daily operations within academic services and managed academic and personal support services for student athletes on campus. She also serves on the UI Athletics senior-management team, numerous campus committees, and oversees diversity educational efforts for student-athletes, according to the release.

“I’d like to thank Interim Provost Kregel and President Harreld for selecting me to serve our campus in this vital leadership role and support our university on a broader scale,” Tovar said in the release. “I appreciate the continued and unwavering support from Gary Barta, director of Athletics, during this temporary move. I truly look forward to fulfilling the role and responsibility of the associate vice president for DEI, as well as assist university leadership with finding a permanent leader.”

In an effort to not delay the process of finding a permanent diversity, equity, and inclusion leader for the UI campus any further, the UI will not change the reporting structure of Tovar’s new position, as previously reported by the DI.

Although there has been conversation of having the associate vice president for diversity report to the president, Tovar will continue to report directly to the provost. Any changes to this structure would require the search committee for a diversity, equity, and inclusion leader to restart its search.

The UI’s seven Diversity Councils called for the immediate appointment of an interim associate vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion, who was already a campus employee, in an open letter on July 13.

“The immediate need for clear and strong DEI leadership cannot be denied or put on hold any longer,” the letter states.

In a news release on July 23, UI President Bruce Harreld said he wanted to appoint an interim associate vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and expects them to commit 100 percent of their time to leading campus efforts.

He also acknowledged a history of racial injustice at the UI, and that individual roles in perpetuating institutional barriers it created against underrepresented students, faculty, and staff starts with him.

Tovar said in a Thursday release that it is critical the UI maintain ongoing conversations and initiatives surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion, and continue embedding it into the fabric of the university during this unprecedented time regarding topics of race and inclusivity.

“I am keenly aware that while the UI has made great strides in setting DEI standards, we are not without our challenges,” Tovar said. “I firmly believe the foundation and decisions we set forth can positively impact the UI now and for years to come. A key component of this is working with campus and community leaders on incorporating more transparency and accountability. I welcome the opportunity to listen to all members of the community, including underrepresented and marginalized groups, whose voices have not always been heard, and enact change where possible.”