L'Tanya Richmond, a 1987 ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ graduate and former director of ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ's Multicultural Center, was awarded the ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ Medallion on Saturday, April 25, at the university's annual Phillips-Perry Black Excellence Awards ceremony .
The ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ Medallion is awarded at the discretion of the president to members of the ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ community who have rendered outstanding service to the university.
After receiving the medallion from President Leo M. Lambert, Richmond thanked her friends in the ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ community.
“I am honored and I am humbled,” she said. “When I came to ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ to work, I came because I wanted to make a difference in the student community. I have so many students, parents, faculty, staff, and friends and family to thank for giving me the opportunity to do not just work that I was passionate about but work that in many ways has been my ministry.”
Richmond, currently director of multicultural affairs at Smith College in Massachusetts, also delivered the keynote address at the ceremony, which recognizes academic excellence among ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s African-American students.
Richmond began her career at ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ as an admissions counselor and placement officer. She was promoted to assistant and later associate director of admissions, as well as director of Minority Affairs and director of ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s Multicultural Center.
Richmond served as director of the Leon and Lorraine Watson North Carolina Scholarship Program, which makes an ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ education possible for North Carolina students with high financial need, including some first-generation college students. She also served as director of The Honorable Thad Eure North Carolina Achievement Scholarship Program.
Her research into the history of ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s African-American students led to the creation of the Wall of Fame in ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s Multicultural Center. She later expanded her research to include interviews with Wall of Fame members. Later, while pursuing her master’s degree at Duke University, Richmond used her research as the subject of her thesis, titled “ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s Black History, A Story to be Told.”
Richmond is a member of Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society. In 2008, she received the Student Advocate Award from ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s student life office for exceptional mentoring of students.
In her current role at Smith College, Richmond directs the activities of the multicultural affairs division, including implementing the institution’s diversity goals. She lives in Northampton, Mass., with her husband, Jason, and daughters, Caitlyn and Camille, who attended Saturday’s ceremony.