Elizabeth Ortiz

Elizabeth joined DePaul University in 2002 and is currently vice president of institutional diversity and equity. Prior to her work at DePaul, she was director of affirmative action, diversity, and employee relations at Northern Illinois University.

Her college and university experience spans over thirty years in both the public and private sector, including the Chicago community college system. She has worked on diversity initiatives in several areas including recruitment, retention, training, programming, and climate issues for diverse students, faculty, and staff. Elizabeth also has worked extensively in issues of higher education and in particular in raising awareness for Latino students, educators, community representatives and others who are committed to Latino representation and advancement in all aspects of higher education. She is a sought-after consultant, lecturer, and workshop presenter on diversity issues and best practices.

Her professional service includes community and professional boards that emphasize multiculturalism as well as recruitment and retention initiatives for diverse student and workforce populations. In 2014 Elizabeth was selected to be an American Council on Higher Education Fellow, part of a leadership program designed to groom university provosts and presidents. She serves on the board of Diversifying Our Faculties in Illinois Program and the Illinois African-American and Latino Higher Education Alliance. She also serves as an officer of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education and past president of the Illinois Latino Council on Higher Education.