Former UF Chief Diversity Officer Marsha McGriff will join the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in July under a similar title to the one she was fired for in Florida.
“I am so grateful and excited — onward and upward!” she wrote in an April 3 LinkedIn post about the switch.
McGriff will serve as UMass’ Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion starting July 1, UMass Chancellor Javier Reyes announced in a university email April 2.
“We value her vision and skills as our community strengthens its commitment to inclusive excellence and equity and integrates it into the fiber of campus life,” Reyes wrote in the announcement.
Her move comes in light of UF’s March diversity, equity and inclusion position layoffs — which included eliminating McGriff’s entire CDO office. Under a 2023 Florida statute, Florida universities are prohibited from spending state or federal funds on DEI initiatives, a mandate approved by the Florida Board of Governors Jan. 24.
Faculty and staff whose positions were eliminated were given priority applications for other positions at UF.
Contact Alissa Gary at agary@alligator.org. Follow her on X @alissagary1.
Alissa is the Fall 2025 editor-in-chief of The Alligator. She has previously been engagement managing editor and university editor, and she has covered stories across UF and Gainesville. She was also an intern at the Orlando Sentinel and The Chronicle of Higher Education. In her free time, she likes to spend time with her cat and take care of her plants.
