New Equal Opportunity Program Director Named

Melodye W. Wehrung, a specialist in educational research and university administration, was yesterday named the new director of Equal Opportunity Programs and Compliance for the University.

She will be responsible for compiling Harvard's Annual Affirmative Action Plan and reporting on the representation of minorities among the University's employees and Faculty.

"I am delighted to have the opportunity of working with the Harvard community in strengthening our role as a world-class leader in education and research," Wehrung said in the Harvard University Gazette. "A commitment to access the full complement of available, excellent talent assures our position in that role."

Wehrung, who assumed her new position two weeks ago, said that although she has been extremely busy, everything has been going well.

"There is a lot to learn in a short amount of time," she told The Crimson. "The job is going well and I am meeting a number of people at the different [graduate] schools."

At Harvard, Wehrung has served as the assistant director of the Bunting Institute, Radcliffe's postdoctoral fellowship program, from 1985-1987. In 1997, she graduated from the Kennedy School of Government with an MPA, where her studies concentrated on organizational management and conflict resolution.

In addition to coordinating, preparing and publishing the Annual Affirmative Action Plan, Wehrung will also develop special management reports to measure progress in the hiring and retention of women and minorities. In collaboration with the Office of Human Resources, Wehrung will design and implement programs and strategies that address under-representation of minority groups.

"Diversity makes sense on a Faculty and staff level," Wehrung said.

Wehrung has had extensive training and experience in statistics and measurement and most recently served in the Office of Research, Assessment, and Evaluation for the Boston Public School system. For the Boston School Department, she organized bilingual education and equity programs research to help integrate the city's schools. Wehrung also annually contributed to a study of Boston's decreasing racial gap in academic achievement.

Associate Vice President and Assistant to President Rudenstine James S. Hoyte, who appointed Wehrung to the position, said Wehrung is not only talented at designing, pinpointing and critiquing research questions but in conducting surveys as well.

"We needed someone with experience and sensitivity in multiple areas: higher education administration, organizational analysis, and field research," Hoyte told the Gazette.