Vice President for Equity and Community Donald Outing recently named two individuals to key staff positions in his division. Denise Beautreau, the manager of the chemistry lab at Lehigh, will now serve as director of Student Access and Success, and Chad Williams, a former director of the Bonner Center for Service Learning and Civic Engagement at Carson Newman University, will be the new director of Lehigh’s Office of Multicultural Affairs.
Beautreau, who will begin her new role at Lehigh on Feb. 3, will succeed George White, a longtime professor of educational leadership at Lehigh, who was named the first managing director of Student Access and Success in 2017. White, who retired in 2019, led the university’s efforts to expand access for first-generation and lower-income students.
Williams will also officially assume his new role on Feb. 3, succeeding Dahlia Hylton in leading Multicultural Affairs. Hylton, who came to Lehigh in 2017, recently accepted a role as the director of Black Student Development at UC Santa Barbara. In his new position, Williams will work to engage, develop and empower all students, staff and faculty in cultivating an inclusive campus environment.
With the naming of Beautreau and Williams, Outing said he is confident that the significant progress in these key areas will continue.
“We are excited to welcome these two exceptional individuals to work in the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Equity,” he said. “Denise Beautreau brings years of on-campus experience to her new position, and her passion for supporting students will help us build on current efforts to expand access to high-impact educational opportunities for all students.”
Williams brings a record of proven success with community outreach, fundraising and advising, Outing said, “and will be invaluable in his new role directing the Office of Multicultural Affairs. Chad's expertise on issues relevant to multiculturalism and diversity will be an asset to all of us in continuing our work in creating an inclusive and equitable community.”
Beautreau will bring a personal perspective to her role. As a teenage immigrant, she successfully learned how to navigate the world of higher education and understand the particular challenges first-gen students from low income backgrounds may face. Additionally, Beautreau participated in the Lehigh University Student Scholars Institute (LUSSI) for the past five years, helping students acquire knowledge and insight into university life, and discover the resources available to them.
Beautreau has managed the chemistry lab at Lehigh since 2013. Prior to that, she was a lab manager at Mercy College in the Bronx and Dobbs Ferry, New York, as well as an adjunct professor at Dobbs Ferry.
She earned her Master of Science in Occupational Safety and Health-Environmental Management from Columbia Southern University, a Master of Science in Chemistry from Long Island University and a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from SUNY College at Plattsburgh.
Williams will bring a wide spectrum of skills to his new role, drawing on more than 16 years of professional experiences in education, information technology and youth and community development. He has worked with several constituencies—faculty and staff, local organizations, community-based nonprofits and government agencies—to help develop students into socially engaged leaders who are successful on an academic, professional and personal level.
Williams served as the director of the Bonner Center at Carson Newman University for four years. Earlier, he was the assistant director of the Irwin W. Steans Center & Egan Urban Center at DePaul University, director of the Boys Leadership Initiative at the Chicago Urban League and a program manager at Alternatives, Inc., in Chicago.
He earned his Masters of Arts degree in Critical Analysis, IT Project Management and Community Development and his Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Beloit.
