News Releases

Ensuring a welcoming environment for all

Sirius Bonner has been named Special Advisor
for Diversity and Equity at Clark College

VANCOUVER, Wash. – Sirius Bonner, a higher education professional with experience in diversity recruitment and multicultural affairs, has been named Special Advisor for Diversity and Equity at Clark College.  Bonner assumed her new position on Dec. 5.

A native of California, Bonner earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts degree from Reed College in Portland, Oregon.  She served as the Director of Multicultural Recruitment and the Multicultural Affairs Student Program Coordinator at Reed College and, most recently, as the Assistant Director of New Student Programs for Diversity Recruitment at Portland State University. 

As Special Advisor to the President for Equity and Diversity, Sirius Bonner will advise and support Clark College’s Executive Cabinet, College Council, Cultural Pluralism Committee and the entire college community. 

Clark College President Robert K. Knight said, “Sirius expressed her passion for – and commitment to – diversity in the workplace and the community during the many interviews and forums that she participated in at Clark College. She will support our efforts to ensure that Clark College provides a welcoming environment for everyone – today and for the future.”

In fall 2011, Clark welcomed 3,796 students of color, a 9% increase from fall 2010. 

Bonner said, “I joined Clark College because of the opportunity to follow my passions for social justice and education in a thriving college environment. I am excited to continue the work of making Clark a more diverse and inclusive place for the whole community, and I look forward to guiding Clark in taking the next steps and moving in new directions.”

Sirius Bonner has participated in conferences and classes at the Social Justice Training Institute, the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education’s Diversity Fellows Conference, and the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication. 

Bonner also participated in the Mayor’s Minority Evaluator Program for the City of Portland. She has served as a volunteer at Portland’s Mt. Scott Community Center and the Black United Fund of Oregon.

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