Jill Lamberton was named a “Champion of Change” recently by the Crawfordsville/Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, an award that goes to someone who has effected positive change in diversity and inclusion efforts.
Lamberton was given the award on Sept. 7 at the Chamber’s annual Business of the Year dinner.
“Professor Lamberton has been a constant force driving Wabash forward,” said Wabash President Scott E. Feller. “As a leader of the Wabash Liberal Arts Immersion Program, as Senior Associate Dean of the College, and as Special Assistant to the President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, she had helped her colleagues understand the relationship between the success of our students and their sense of belonging on our campus.”
Lamberton, an associate professor of English and special assistant to the president for diversity, equity, and inclusion, has long been an influential presence advocating for a diverse and inclusive campus. Those efforts increased in 2021, when the College received grant funding from the Eli Lilly Endowment Inc. for “Restoring Hope, Restoring Trust.”
The goals of “Restoring Hope, Restoring Trust” are increasing the enrollment and graduation of young men from new majority populations; creating academic courses that demonstrate how a timeless liberal arts education speaks to the timely issues of equity and inclusion; offering more cultural and artistic programming for Wabash and Montgomery County; providing support for research on African American historical sites in Indiana and on men’s success in higher education; and significantly expanding the engagement of Wabash students with the Crawfordsville community.
“Restoring Hope, Restoring Trust has helped the College achieve many positive outcomes,” said Steven Jones, Dean for Professional Development and Director of the Malcolm X Institute of Black Studies. “Professor Lamberton’s work in this space has enhanced the foundation of inclusion that all of us must continue to completely engage in to ensure success with enrollment, retention, and post-Wabash opportunities for our students. I congratulate her on this recognition.”
She joined the Wabash College English department faculty in 2009. In 2018, she was appointed Senior Associate Dean of the College before accepting her current campus role.
A specialist in the teaching of writing and in 19th-century British literature, Prof. Lamberton’s courses range from Audio Rhetoric to African American Literature to the Victorian novel. She is an Honorary Member of the Malcolm X Institute of Black Studies at Wabash and has also served on the Advisory Board of the MXIBS.
“It was an honor to recognize Professor Lamberton for her continued dedication to diversity and inclusion both for our community and Wabash College,” said Stacy Sommer, executive director of the Crawfordsville/Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce.