Angela Allen, chief officer for diversity and inclusion at West Texas A&M University, is being recognized by The Texas A&M University System (TAMUS) for her commitment and dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Allen was nominated by WT President Walter Wendler as one of 12 recipients from across TAMUS universities to be honored at The Chancellor’s Summit on Diversity on Feb. 18.

Prior to coming to WT in 2013, Allen spent more than 20 years at Amarillo College (AC) as a professor, academic adviser and sponsor of AC’s Multicultural Student Organization and program director of the AC North YMCA Outreach Learning Center. At WT, she has served as an outreach adviser with College Talent Search and as interim chief of diversity and inclusion before occupying the position permanently.

Her work supports the recruitment and retention of underserved and underrepresented students, as well as helps to build a diverse faculty and staff. Allen was instrumental in helping build the Nathaniel and Helen Neal Multicultural Suite in the Jack B. Kelley Student Center on campus, which houses the offices for Diversity and Inclusion, First Year Experience, Campus 2 Community Experiential Learning, the International Student Department and a state of the art student lounge.

Allen is involved in state, national and international diversity and inclusion efforts. In September 2019, she was part of the NAWO Summit Delegation sponsored by the Global Institute for Diversity and Change, which included giving a Girls in Pearls Empowerment presentation – a variation of the Women in Pearls Empowerment fundraiser at WT – to women and girls in Internally Displaced People (IDP) villages in Nigeria.

Allen also was selected to participate as a member of the 2019 Leadership and Mentoring Institute sponsored by the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education and Texas Southern University. She has been awarded the Excellence in Service to Students award by the WT Chapter of the National Society of Leadership and Success, Sigma Alpha Phi. Allen was selected to serve as a Fellow in Cohort 4 of NADOHE's Chief Diversity Officer Fellows Program for the 2017-2018 year.

An active member of the community, Allen serves as a board member and secretary for the St. Anthony’s Legacy and Redevelopment Corporation (SALARC), and similarly, she has served on the board of directors for the Salvation Army, American Red Cross and the AC Ex-Students Association. Allen also is involved with the Amarillo NAACP, Amarillo Community Relations Committee and served as a loaned executive, account executive and training executive for the United Way of Amarillo.

Allen’s professional organizations include the Texas Association for Chicanos in Higher Education, Texas Association for Black Personnel in Higher Education, Big 12 Association for Diversity Officers in Higher Education, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and she served 20 years as director of Christian Education at Johnson Chapel A.M.E. Church.

Allen earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing at Texas Tech University and a master’s degree in communication from WT. She is a Ph.D. candidate for a degree in college leadership at Colorado State University.

For more information about diversity and inclusion at WT, contact Angela Allen at 806-651-8480.

-West Texas A&M University