Frank King, Jr., joins MSUM as associate provost of diversity and inclusion
Dr. Frank King, Jr., has joined MSUM as its first Associate Provost for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion This new role will help the university advance its strategic priority of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Dr. King will lead and facilitate diversity initiatives in academic affairs programs, including faculty training and development, faculty recruitment and retention, and curricular initiatives, along with encouraging internationalization across the curriculum. This position also oversees the university’s Faculty Development Center. Ultimately, the associate provost will facilitate the implementation of Minnesota State Equity 2030, which calls for eliminating educational equity gaps at every Minnesota State college and university.
Originally from Maryland, Dr. King served in the U.S. Air Force from 1995 to 1999, mainly at Misawa Air Base, Japan. After leaving the service, he and his family moved to Washington, where he earned his undergraduate degree in social studies education and became a Ronald E. McNair Scholar at Eastern Washington University.
He completed a doctorate in American studies at Washington State University. Dr. King’s academic areas of interest include hip hop pedagogy, the prison industrial complex and racial disparities, the history of the War on Drugs, Afrocentric philosophy, and African American history.
In 2020, Dr. King became the Executive Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the Special Assistant to the Chief Diversity Office at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. He assisted in building and developing support, community, and resources for faculty, staff and students to help in UW-Platteville’s call to ensure all students have substantial knowledge of diversity, equity, and inclusion issues.
Dr. King and his wife, Kecia (USAF Ret.), make their home in Moorhead and look forward to be a part of the community both on and off campus.