Thought Leadership

Renetta Garrison Tull is the inaugural vice chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at UC Davis. Tull is a passionate advocate, global mentor, education policy strategist, and champion for equity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). VC Tull is in significant demand as a media contact, social media spokesperson, sponsor and speaker, in part because with every invitation she takes significant care to understand and meet the needs of everyone who approaches her.

The earlier that you send queries, invitations, relevant information, questions and talking points and/or scripts to the Office of the Vice Chancellor, the better for all! By providing a clear picture of your needs, you will facilitate the preparation process and help VC Tull participate in the way that best serves your goals.

• Requested timeline

• Submit your speaker request form at least three weeks prior to the event date.

  Submit supporting materials and information at least two weeks prior to the event date.

• Preferred formats

• Keynote/Interview (longer than 15 minutes) - Rather than standing at a podium delivering prepared remarks, VC Tull feels that one of the most engaging formats for a keynote presentation is an interview style or “moderated chat” where a moderator asks her questions. The format reduces formality, increases comfort, leads into dialogue and Q/A with the audience, and gives an emerging leader the opportunity to share the space and build public speaking skills. In fact, that’s how VC Tull broke into being a public speaker herself!

  Formal Remarks (10 minutes or fewer) - If formal remarks are preferred, VC Tull is happy to give 5 to 10 minutes on a prearranged topic and then, if desired, taking questions from the audience. 

  Panel (any length) - For any panel discussion, VC Tull requests that you provide the names and affiliations of the panelists, brief bios, and an introduction via email so that she can introduce herself informally before the event takes place.

  Stakeholder Meeting / Event Appearance - The Vice Chancellor can also make scripted formal remarks (no more than 5-10 minutes) on appropriate occasions or merely appear at an event and participate informally.

• Additional Guidance

• Please provide  guidance on the topics you would like to be covered. Be as specific and focused in your request as possible. What are your top 2-3 (or 1!) priorities?

  Please describe the size and type of audience, as well as issues of special interest to the group. 

  Please also provide snapshot of the entire program including the names and affiliations any other speakers. This helps VC Tull to situate her presentation in the broader context to complement the approach or topics of other speakers. 

  If you anticipate that any key stakeholders will be in attendance or speaking, we appreciate the inclusion of stakeholder bios or links to stakeholder websites. 

  One very good way to prepare the Vice Chancellor is to provide her with rough or polished talking points or run-of-show script, which our office will review and possibly modify. 

  If the Vice Chancellor is to act as a master of ceremonies or presenter for an awards, appreciation, or celebratory event, we require that you provide her a draft script/run-of-show for review and possible modification. 

• 250-word bio

• Renetta Garrison Tull is the University of California Davis' inaugural Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), which houses Academic Diversity, the Office of Campus Community Relations, four centers, and Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (DEI within the medical school, nursing school and health center). She formerly served as Associate Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives at UMBC and as a Director for the University System of Maryland. In past roles at UMBC, Tull served as either Co-PI or PI on AGEP, ADVANCE, and LSAMP proposals.  At Davis, she is PI of the PROMISE Engineering Institute.  Her degrees in electrical engineering and speech science are from Howard University and Northwestern University, and she has had faculty roles at UW-Madison, University of Maryland College Park, UMBC.

  Dr. Tull is on the Chief Diversity Officers Council for the University of California, and she is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UC Davis.  An international speaker on global diversity in STEM, Dr. Tull was a Global Engineering Deans Council/Airbus Diversity Award Finalist and received the ABET Claire L. Felbinger Award for Diversity, and the Student Platform for Engineering Education Development Global Mentoring Award. She was part of the consensus committee for the National Academies’ “Impact of COVID-19 on the Careers of Women in Academic STEMM” and is part of the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES) community. Her research interests in Humanitarian Engineering continue through sharing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• 450-word bio

• Dr. Renetta Garrison Tull is the University of California Davis' inaugural Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), which houses Academic Diversity, the Office of Campus Community Relations, four centers, and Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (DEI within the medical school, nursing school and health center). She also serves on the Chief Diversity Officers Council for the University of California, and has several programs and boards within her portfolio including HSI initiatives, the Police Accountability Board, Diversity and Inclusion Education and strategic planning, 4 centers, and more.

  She formerly served as Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Development and later, Associate Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives at UMBC. She had a detail within the University System of Maryland’s headquarters (for 12 institutions), serving as the Director for Pipeline Professional Development Programs, and she has been either Co-PI or PI on National Science Foundation grants within the Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP), ADVANCE, and Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) programs. At Davis, she is PI of the PROMISE Engineering Institute, a collaboration between UC Davis and UMBC, with connections to engineering schools within the UC, and engineering schools in Maryland (UM College Park, Morgan State, and Johns Hopkins) to form an engineering “East-West” collaboration.  Her degrees in electrical engineering and speech science are from Howard University and Northwestern University, and she has had faculty roles at UW-Madison, University of Maryland College Park, UMBC. She was inducted into Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society, and participates in faculty activities as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UC Davis, and a faculty affiliate in the Interdepartmental Program on Human Rights Studies.  

  An international speaker on global diversity in STEM, Dr. Tull was a Global Engineering Deans Council/Airbus Diversity Award Finalist, and has received the ABET Claire L. Felbinger Award for Diversity, and the Student Platform for Engineering Education Development Global Mentoring Award. She has been involved with Puerto Rico’s ADVANCE Hispanic Women in STEM, the Latin and Caribbean Consortium of Engineering Institutions, UNESCO, the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES) community, and her research interests in Humanitarian Engineering continue through sharing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She is an author of a chapter of Rising to the Top, IFEES book on global women in engineering – which will be featured at the World Engineering Education Forum in 2021, and was part of the consensus committees for the National Academies’ “Impact of COVID-19 on the Careers of Women in Academic STEMM,” and “The Science of Effective Mentoring in STEMM. Tull enjoys her work as an education policy strategist and champion for equity.

• Honorarium
• Per University of California Policy, VC Tull is not able to accept any form of honorarium. Instead, she encourages organizations to make contributions to our DEI philanthropies.  
• Travel (non-UC Davis events only)
• For most of her appearances off the UC Davis campus, VC Tull requests that organizations cover hotel, travel, meals, and ground transportation directly related directly to the speaking event. Before making any travel arrangements, please confer with the Vice Chancellor as she may be trying to coordinate with other trips.

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