Sociology
Dr. Deidre Hill Butler's diversity, equity, and inclusion work in higher education and community organizations span thirty years. She recently joined the inaugural diversity team at Union. She is the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion/Academic Chief Diversity Officer. She is also an Associate Professor of Sociology. Her research areas encompass the sociology of Black resilience. Her book *Beyond Mammies and Matriarchs: Visibility of Black Stepmothers* with SUNY Press is forthcoming. She has contributed to various edited volumes and has published widely in various Africana academic journals. She is the former Director of the Africana Studies program at Union College. She was the POSSE 5 faculty mentor. She is an affiliate faculty member in the Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies Program, American Studies Program, and Religious Studies programs at Union College. She is a co-founder of the Union Coalition for Inclusiveness and Diversity (UCID). She served as the Feminist Mothering Caucus Chair for the National Women's Studies Association. Dr. Hill Butler curated two community-engaged photo exhibits based on ethnographic interviews with North Nashville residents and the interviews are part of the Nashville Public Library Digital History Project. Both exhibits display images of Black community resilience in the Bordeaux neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee since the 2010 devastating flood. She is also a Life Member of the Association of Black Women Historians. She is an active member of the Professional Women of Color Network of the Capital Region. She is a frequent participant of the Faculty Resource Network and a staunch advocate for and participant in academic writing retreats. She is on the leadership team for the Capital Region Anti-Racism Alliance, on the Boards of Safe Inc. of Schenectady and Cocoa house Inc. She is a member of the Duryee AME Zion Church; Delta Mu Omega Graduate Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; the Greater Albany Chapter of Jack and Jill of America; the Schenectady Silhouettes; and the Schenectady Chapter of the NAACP. She is co-teaching a Minerva online course this fall, Critical Perspectives and Action on Inequality, Power, & Privilege, designed to engage students and colleagues to develop action plans for social justice.
