Biography

Markeisha J. Miner joined the University of Rhode Island as Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer in January 2024. She leads the Office of Community, Equity, and Diversity, advancing initiatives to foster an inclusive, people-centered culture as outlined in Focus URI, the University’s bold strategic plan.

Markeisha comes to URI with extensive higher education administrative experience. Prior to joining URI, she served as Senior Associate Dean and Dean of Students at Cornell Law School. As a member of the law school’s senior leadership team, she supported all aspects of the student experience as well as supervised the academic support, career, and registrar’s offices. She received the Anne Lukingbeal Award for tireless advocacy to improve the experiences of women law students. She also served on both the Law School’s Diversity Committee and the University-Wide diversity, inclusion, and belonging committee. Additionally, she was a Disability Services Liaison and served on the University’s Students with Families Committee, the Council on Mental Health, and the Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education’s Associate Deans Council. Markeisha began her career in higher education at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law as Assistant Dean of Career Services and Outreach, overseeing all aspects of career planning and professional development. She has taught courses in legal writing and multicultural work environments.

An attorney by training, Markeisha practiced in Dickinson Wright PLLC’s Detroit office, where she was an inaugural member of the firm’s diversity committee and co-authored the firm’s diversity mission statement. She specialized in school and education law, labor and employment, and commercial litigation. She also clerked for the Hon. Anna Diggs Taylor on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Markeisha is a member of the Mount Holyoke College Board of Trustees. She also is a member of several bar associations, including the American Bar Association, the National Bar Association, and the State Bar of Michigan. Markeisha earned her B.A., magna cum laude, at Mount Holyoke College and her J.D. at the University of Michigan Law School.