Yashwant Prakash Vyas is a proud second-generation educator. He is a higher education, nonprofit, and organization development practitioner who centers access, equity, and inclusion in his work. He is passionate about creating equitable and accessible pathways to education. He has a portfolio of working at four research one, public, flagship universities in the United States.
Yashwant is the Director of the Aulbani J. Beauregard Center for Equity, Justice, and Freedom at the University of New Hampshire. In this role, he advances the efforts to foster a climate of equity and inclusion at the University by directing campus-wide student engagement, support, and success initiatives.
Prior to joining the University of New Hampshire, Yashwant worked at the University of Mississippi, University of Iowa, and Texas A&M University. He served as the inaugural Diversity Education and Strategic Initiatives Director at the University of Mississippi. In that role, he advanced the efforts to foster a climate of equity and inclusion at the University through directing the development, implementation, and assessment of campus-wide educational interventions [trainings, coaching, consulting] for faculty, staff, administrators, and students, resource development, and strategic planning.
At the University of Iowa, Yashwant was the Assistant Director for Diversity Resources in the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and an adjunct instructor in the University College. In those roles, he advanced the efforts to foster a climate of equity and inclusion at the University through facilitating diversity education trainings for faculty, staff, and students, designing training curricula, facilitating train-the-trainer capacity building efforts, strategic planning, programming, teaching, and coaching and consultations related to creating diverse, inclusive, equitable workplaces and classrooms.
At Texas A&M University, among his various roles, Yashwant directly oversaw the development, implementation, and evaluation of two retention programs to foster equitable and accessible learning environments for Latinx and first-generation college students. He was Student Research Week Director (the largest student-run, single-university research symposium in the nation). He also worked for a private grant-making foundation, Greater Texas Foundation, and engaged in efforts to ensure that all students in the state are prepared for, have access to, and complete post-secondary education.
Yashwant is an active member of NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education and American College Personnel Association (ACPA) – College Student Educators International. He has presented educational sessions at several national and international conferences. He continues to be invited by universities and colleges to facilitate leadership development and diversity education trainings for faculty, staff, and students. Highlights in his list of national and international recognitions include the Outstanding Social Justice Educator, Trainer, or Mentor Award from ACPA.
Yashwant has Master of Public Administration degree with specialization in Higher Education Policy and Administration along with graduate certificates in Organization Development and Change, Public Management, and Nonprofit Management. He has a Bachelor of Science degree with minors in Mathematics and Leadership Studies. He holds several licenses/certifications such as the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) Associate Certificate, Cultural Intelligence (CQ) Certified Facilitator, Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) Qualified Administrator, National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) Facilitator, Certified Mediator, Lean Sigma Process Improvement Yellow Belt, Lean Sigma Green Belt, etc. His academic honors include memberships in numerous scholarly associations such as the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society.
In his spare time, Yashwant pursues his hobby of drawing and painting. Yashwant’s pronouns are he, him, his.
Yashwant is the Director of the Aulbani J. Beauregard Center for Equity, Justice, and Freedom at the University of New Hampshire. In this role, he advances the efforts to foster a climate of equity and inclusion at the University by directing campus-wide student engagement, support, and success initiatives.
Prior to joining the University of New Hampshire, Yashwant worked at the University of Mississippi, University of Iowa, and Texas A&M University. He served as the inaugural Diversity Education and Strategic Initiatives Director at the University of Mississippi. In that role, he advanced the efforts to foster a climate of equity and inclusion at the University through directing the development, implementation, and assessment of campus-wide educational interventions [trainings, coaching, consulting] for faculty, staff, administrators, and students, resource development, and strategic planning.
At the University of Iowa, Yashwant was the Assistant Director for Diversity Resources in the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and an adjunct instructor in the University College. In those roles, he advanced the efforts to foster a climate of equity and inclusion at the University through facilitating diversity education trainings for faculty, staff, and students, designing training curricula, facilitating train-the-trainer capacity building efforts, strategic planning, programming, teaching, and coaching and consultations related to creating diverse, inclusive, equitable workplaces and classrooms.
At Texas A&M University, among his various roles, Yashwant directly oversaw the development, implementation, and evaluation of two retention programs to foster equitable and accessible learning environments for Latinx and first-generation college students. He was Student Research Week Director (the largest student-run, single-university research symposium in the nation). He also worked for a private grant-making foundation, Greater Texas Foundation, and engaged in efforts to ensure that all students in the state are prepared for, have access to, and complete post-secondary education.
Yashwant is an active member of NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education and American College Personnel Association (ACPA) – College Student Educators International. He has presented educational sessions at several national and international conferences. He continues to be invited by universities and colleges to facilitate leadership development and diversity education trainings for faculty, staff, and students. Highlights in his list of national and international recognitions include the Outstanding Social Justice Educator, Trainer, or Mentor Award from ACPA.
Yashwant has Master of Public Administration degree with specialization in Higher Education Policy and Administration along with graduate certificates in Organization Development and Change, Public Management, and Nonprofit Management. He has a Bachelor of Science degree with minors in Mathematics and Leadership Studies. He holds several licenses/certifications such as the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) Associate Certificate, Cultural Intelligence (CQ) Certified Facilitator, Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) Qualified Administrator, National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) Facilitator, Certified Mediator, Lean Sigma Process Improvement Yellow Belt, Lean Sigma Green Belt, etc. His academic honors include memberships in numerous scholarly associations such as the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society.
In his spare time, Yashwant pursues his hobby of drawing and painting. Yashwant’s pronouns are he, him, his.