May 10, 2021
Mamta Accapadi is the Vice Provost for University Life at University of Pennsylvania and a national leader in university student affairs, whose career has been devoted to the goals of inclusion, community, and social justice. She has been a particular advocate for first-generation students, low-income students, and children of immigrants, reflecting her own background as a child of immigrants who went on to earn three degrees from the University of Texas at Austin.
Mamta previously served as vice president for student affairs at Rollins College from 2013-2020, following four years as dean of student life at Oregon State University. Her earlier experience at UT-Austin included serving as university ombudsman, diversity education coordinator, advisor to Greek life and education, coordinator of the International Teaching Assistant Program, and assistant director of the Multicultural Information Center. She earned a PhD and MEd in higher education administration and a BA in microbiology from UT-Austin.
By listening to this conversation with Mamta, you’ll learn about:
- The Vanilla Ice approach to solving problems
- Brownness and how it impacts identity
- Prioritizing relationships over being right
- Overcoming the fear of public speaking
- Moving beyond labels when identifying individuals
- Balancing cultural accountability with forgiveness.