By Queens College Office of Communications and Marketing
Photos: YouTube\Andy Poon\Queens College
Flushing, New York, February 28, 2025 — Iyabo Oyewo-Hall has been appointed as the director of the school’s Center for Ethnic, Racial, and Religious Understanding (CERRU). The center, which provides training and workshops for the college community, seeks to create safe, vibrant, and equitable engagement spaces on campus. Reporting to Dean of Diversity and Chief Diversity Officer Jerima DeWese, Oyewo-Hall will be responsible for developing and managing educational programs geared toward creating greater awareness and understanding. She will facilitate community-building initiatives that demonstrate the college’s commitment to fostering cultural transformation and a sense of belonging across the campus. Oyewo-Hall will also organize and present workshops and educational programs for the campus community as well as implement interventions that identify and address systemic inequities.
“I am delighted to welcome Iyabo to the college,” said Queens College President Frank H. Wu. “CERRU plays a vital role in ensuring that we are able to continue fostering a community built on respect for each other. We are committed to strengthening our efforts toward nondiscrimination and inclusion, which will surely be enhanced under Iyabo’s leadership.”
Oyewo-Hall comes to the college from the New York City Department of Housing Development and Preservation, where since April 2022 she served as the director of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) for the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). In that position, Oyewo-Hall conducted investigations into allegations of discrimination and/or harassment involving any protected class; managed requests for reasonable accommodations; and conducted live EEO and other relevant training sessions for all employees. Prior to that, Oyewo-Hall worked for the CUNY system as assistant director for International Student Engagement in Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC). There she facilitated and managed the BMCC Heritage Council, which developed programming for Black History Month, Asian History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Woman’s History Month, etc., and collaborated with departments on the implementation of best practices to establish university standards. She developed learning and training resources for raising awareness, building capacity, and building skills for leaders in mitigating systemic unconscious bias, having difficult conversations, building trust, and leading and managing inclusively and equitably. She also worked as a senior diversity specialist at the Mount Sinai Medical Center.
“I am excited to welcome Iyabo to Queens College and look forward to working with her,” said DeWese. “Her experience in providing effective programs for culturally, socially, and ethnically diverse groups that lead to the implementation of strategies will be an asset to Queens College. I would like to thank the search committee and panelists for their service.””
Oyewo-Hall earned a Master of Arts in International Education in Human Rights from New York University, a Master of Public Administration in Human Resource Management from John Jay College, and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Baruch College. She earned a DEI certificate from Cornell University.
