University names first director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

“Diversity work is really creating spaces to help people build relationships.”

That is the guiding principle of Kristin Johnston, Detroit Mercy’s first University-wide director of the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. She began her position Aug. 1.

Much work is already being done across the University in terms of DEI, Johnston said. She sees her position as helping focus and unify it. She is also looking forward to getting to understand more about the Sisters of Mercy’s Critical Concerns and the Jesuits’ Apostolic Preferences so she can plan programming around those.

Johnston comes to the University from Wayne State University where she was an advisor for Student Disability Services then in the Office of Multicultural Student Engagement. There she oversaw the Women of Color Learning Community, LBGTQ+ student initiatives on campus, student training and workshops on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and WSU’s Rainbow Graduation, one of many popular year-end celebrations for minority or marginalized groups on campus. She is also a businesswoman, having run a bridal shop in Detroit for five years until pandemic pressures led her to close it.

She earned a bachelor of Education with a specialization in interpreting for the deaf at Kent State University in Ohio and a master’s degree in Learning and Design Technology from Wayne State.

“This position at Detroit Mercy stood out to me because it seemed like a way to marry my faith and my love of diversity. The idea that it’s the first position is also really cool because it’s an opportunity to build something fresh.”

It also allows her to stay in the city she loves. Johnston grew up in the University District and her mother still lives there.

“I’m not here to change things, I just want to enhance what is being done, she said. “My goal for the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (ODEI) is to create spaces for students, faculty and staff to connect with each other, to lean into the traditions of the University and add a cultural piece.”

“We’re very pleased to welcome Kristin to the University and look forward to the many partnerships she’ll develop through her work,” said Detroit Mercy President Donald Taylor. “It’s incredibly important that Detroit Mercy continue to build on and enhance diversity, equity and inclusion for all faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends in the community, and represents a critical priority for us all.”

Johnston is married to a Detroit Public School teacher and they have two young children.

For more on the ODEI, visit udmercy.edu/life/dei.