Wayne Gersie, PhD

Wayne is the inaugural Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion and a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences at Michigan Technological University. As Vice President, he is responsible for providing vision, strategic leadership, and thoughtful change management for campus diversity, equity, inclusion, and sense-of-belonging (DEIS) initiatives. Wayne works collaboratively with Michigan Tech faculty, staff, students, alumni, and external constituents to advance the University’s commitment to all aspects of diversity and inclusion. His senior leadership role includes communicating the value proposition of DEIS initiative educational and innovation impacts on the University’s overall performance-related scholarship and research. Additionally, he coaches University leaders to become culturally proficient in order to promote and sustain culturally responsive leadership.

Prior to joining Michigan Tech, Wayne served as Assistant Research Professor and Chief Diversity Officer for the Applied Research Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University. He is the founder and principal of Oasis Strategic Consulting LLC and earned his PhD in Workforce Education and Development, with emphasis on Human Resources, along with an MEd in Counselor Education (both from Penn State). Additionally, he holds certificates from the Harvard University Institute for Management and Leadership Education (Cambridge, Massachusetts), and the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations and Center for Creative Leadership in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Recently, Wayne’s book chapter “Developing Employee Resource Groups” was featured in Rethinking Organizational Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (Routledge, 2022).