Veterinary College Welcomes NC State Alum as Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

The NC State College of Veterinary Medicine has named Dr. Ashlee Canty, director of equity initiatives at the Hunt Institute for education policy in Raleigh, as the new director of the college’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.  

Canty received her undergraduate degree in biological sciences from NC State, her master’s from Western Illinois University and her doctorate in philosophy from DePaul University in Chicago.

“We’re so happy to have Dr. Canty on board to help us continue to provide such a wonderful, inclusive culture for all,” says Dr. Kate Meurs, dean of the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine. “I welcome the enthusiasm, experience and training that she brings to this new role.”

Part of Canty’s mission at the College of Veterinary Medicine will be to research and guide strategies to help support an inclusive community for all students, faculty and staff.

“People desire a sense of belonging that leads to greater cohesion and working relationships for teams,” Canty says. “I am passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion work and its importance in creating spaces that foster a sense of belonging where people feel heard and are valued.”

Among her work at the Hunt Institute, Canty developed metrics to monitor inclusion challenges and opportunities, created and facilitated new employee orientation and training modules for supervisors and new staff and conducted  climate surveys to measure progress toward inclusive practices to retain and train leadership and staff.

In her career, Canty also has served as the Inclusive Practice Manager at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem and as vice president of Campus Operations for the North American Interfraternity Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana.

“I am excited to come back ‘home’ to NCSU!” Canty says. “I have so many great memories as an undergraduate student and am so appreciative of the opportunities I was provided. I look forward to supporting students, faculty and staff across the College of Veterinary Medicine!”

Meurs says it will always be one of the goals of the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine’s strategic plan to make sure everyone in the CVM community feels included and welcomed.

“Dr. Canty has a lot of training and experience in developing welcome and inclusive communities, and we look forward to her doing even more of that here,” Meurs says. “I think in the past we’ve focused quite a bit on helping our students feel included, which is very, very important, but I look for this position to also grow that for staff and for faculty and house officers and post-docs as well.”