Raising the Bar on Diversity: Dr. Lawrence T. Potter, Allegheny College’s first chief diversity officer, comes from a family that is committed to higher education. As a third generation college graduate, he has mixed his education between Stillman, a historically Black college in Tuscaloosa, Ala., where he earned bachelor’s degrees in English, philosophy and religion and then the University of Missouri—Columbia, where he earned a master’s degree and doctorate in English. He also taught in China as a Fulbright scholar.
During his 15 years in higher education, Potter has worked as both a professor and administrator. At the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., he served as executive director of institutional diversity and chief diversity officer as well as McNair Scholars Program director. He also received the William Malevich Faculty Leadership Award. In 2008, the St. Paul Foundation awarded him the Facing Race Ambassador Award for his anti-racism work in the Twin Cities.
