Ridgewater Adds Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to Team
August 17, 2021
WILLMAR and HUTCHINSON, MN – Ridgewater College is excited to announce the addition of a new team member – Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Alberto Ramos.
Ramos will serve as both the Campus Diversity Officer and Affirmative Action Officer. He will collaborate with staff and faculty on outreach, recruitment, retention, and completion strategies to increase enrollment, student success and completion for underrepresented populations. Ramos will be an active, visible diversity champion on the Ridgewater campuses and within communities.
“Diversity, equity and inclusion have long been priorities for Ridgewater College, and our Equity 2030 commitment is focused on ensuring that every student in our College is positioned for success,” said Ridgewater’s President Dr. Craig Johnson. “We look forward to working with Alberto to help us move our equity and inclusion work to the next level.”
Ramos has a B.A. in Communication Studies and Travel and Tourism from St. Cloud State University (SCSU) and will complete his master’s degree there also this fall in Teaching English as a Second Language. In addition, he recently completed a professional certificate in Leading for Inclusion and Racial Justice from Antioch University and is bilingual in Spanish and English.
Johnson said he is excited about Ramos’ experiences. Ramos brings seven years of experience working directly with students to his new position. Most recently, he served as the diversity and equity success specialist at North Hennepin Community College. He focused on programming to help alleviate the opportunity gap for students as well leading training sessions to support diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts among faculty and staff.
Ramos has also worked for an organization called Campus Outreach, where he helped launch a new student retention movement at SCSU. During that time, he also served as a diversity consultant to a regional staff team to help promote inclusion efforts. Internationally, Ramos interned for a non-profit organization in Uruguay for a year, promoting student belonging.
“I am most excited to build relationships with community members and to serve as a support to the equity and inclusion work that is already happening at Ridgewater and in the communities in and around Willmar and Hutchinson,” Ramos said. “Moving equity and inclusion forward must be done within a team.”
Ramos will develop and lead Ridgewater’s efforts in the Minnesota State statewide Equity 2030 effort to develop and strengthen diversity initiatives for an inclusive and equitable college climate that ensures genuine opportunity for successful participation for all.
During the past year, in an effort to remind employees and partners of its goals, Ridgewater adopted a new Equity Commitment statement: Ridgewater College is committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive campuses that value and respect the unique experiences, needs and contributions of individuals and groups from every background and identity to ensure that each student, employee and community member has a genuine opportunity for participation and success.
Outside of work, Ramos enjoys spending time with his family and friends. He and his wife have two children under the age of 2. He loves traveling, playing competitive volleyball, playing piano, and singing.