L'Tanya Richmond, a 1987 ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ graduate and former director of ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ's Multicultural Center, was awarded the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Medallion on Saturday, April 25, at the university's annual Phillips-Perry Black Excellence Awards ceremony .
The ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Medallion is awarded at the discretion of the president to members of the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ community who have rendered outstanding service to the university.
After receiving the medallion from President Leo M. Lambert, Richmond thanked her friends in the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ community.
“I am honored and I am humbled,” she said. “When I came to ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ to work, I came because I wanted to make a difference in the student community. I have so many students, parents, faculty, staff, and friends and family to thank for giving me the opportunity to do not just work that I was passionate about but work that in many ways has been my ministry.”
Richmond, currently director of multicultural affairs at Smith College in Massachusetts, also delivered the keynote address at the ceremony, which recognizes academic excellence among ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ’s African-American students.
Richmond began her career at ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ as an admissions counselor and placement officer. She was promoted to assistant and later associate director of admissions, as well as director of Minority Affairs and director of ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ’s Multicultural Center.
Richmond served as director of the Leon and Lorraine Watson North Carolina Scholarship Program, which makes an ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ education possible for North Carolina students with high financial need, including some first-generation college students. She also served as director of The Honorable Thad Eure North Carolina Achievement Scholarship Program.
Her research into the history of ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ’s African-American students led to the creation of the Wall of Fame in ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ’s Multicultural Center. She later expanded her research to include interviews with Wall of Fame members. Later, while pursuing her master’s degree at Duke University, Richmond used her research as the subject of her thesis, titled “ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ’s Black History, A Story to be Told.”
Richmond is a member of Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society. In 2008, she received the Student Advocate Award from ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ’s student life office for exceptional mentoring of students.
In her current role at Smith College, Richmond directs the activities of the multicultural affairs division, including implementing the institution’s diversity goals. She lives in Northampton, Mass., with her husband, Jason, and daughters, Caitlyn and Camille, who attended Saturday’s ceremony.