Dr. Nkenge Friday is the inaugural Vice President of Inclusive Excellence at American University. Friday is a noted national inclusive excellence leader and a higher education educator with background researching and advising on the history and modern contexts of access and inclusion in higher education.

Focusing efforts on organizational wide strategy, Friday has worked throughout her career with leaders and constituents to develop strategic aims, goals, and initiatives that align with collaborative based frameworks, aligning organizational needs with national and global trends and current research practices.

In her most recent role as the inaugural Senior Assistant Vice-Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Friday served as a senior leader in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, developing and implementing more than 20 inclusive excellence strategic plans and initiatives across the university’s colleges and administrative units.

As a national leader on trends impacting higher education’s promise on access and equity, she has presented her work across audiences. In faculty roles, she has taught courses that include global leadership, history of equity and inclusion in higher education, history of higher education and global higher education. Her most recent research includes the impact of global nationalism on institutions of higher learning and leveraging inclusion and belonging for leadership and learning for both internal and external advancement.

Dr. Friday, a certified qualified administrator for the Intercultural Development Inventory, serves as a leader and board member within several professional associations and nonprofits, and is a 2023 HERS Leadership Institute alum. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.