James A. Felton III

Vice President for Equity and Inclusion

James A. Felton III is the inaugural Vice President for Equity and Inclusion at Fordham University. Previously, he was the inaugural Vice President for Inclusive Excellence at The College of New Jersey, Chief Diversity Officer at State University of New York at Cortland, and the inaugural Chief Diversity Officer at Anne Arundel Community College.)

Recognized as a national leader and scholar-practitioner in the field of diversity in higher education, Felton has contributed to the development of several diversity and strategic plans; has managed several scholarship and mentoring programs for underrepresented students at a number of selective private liberal arts colleges and state-system universities across the country; and he has collaborated with corporate, nonprofit and federal agencies and NGOs to promote international programs and initiatives on diversity and social justice. He is the co-author of the book Inclusive Directions: The Role of the Chief Diversity Officer in Community College Leadership.

A frequent conference and workshop presenter, Felton has served on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE) since 2021 and became its National Board Chair in 2026. Previously, he served as a member of the National Advisory Council for the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity from 2015 to 2017. He served as the project team leader as part of Anne Arundel Community College's participation in the Committing to Equity and Inclusive Excellence: Campus-Based Strategies for Student Success project sponsored by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) from 2014-2017. In 2016, he participated in the White House Convening on Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education, sponsored by the White House Domestic Policy Council in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education.

Felton earned a BA in Psychology and an MS in Education Administration at McDaniel College. He is currently completing his Ph.D. in Global Leadership from Indiana Institute of Technology.