Dr. Alydia Thomas is Associate Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Alydia’s role is an essential component of the Office of the Provost – Graduate Team’s expanded mission to provide increased centralized services for graduate and professional students. Since joining our office in June 2022, Alydia has launched Graduate Global Ties, a peer mentoring program that has served over 1,000 international graduate students over the past two academic years; designed and is leading the new and expanded K. Leroy Irvis Fellowship program for underrepresented PhD students; and is co-PI and project manager of the new Sloan Center for Systemic Change (SCSC) initiative funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation with the aim of supporting equitable participation, experiences and outcomes in PhD programs in the physical sciences and engineering.
Outside her role at the University, Alydia has a decade of experience serving in Student Affairs and Residence Life at institutions in the Greater Pittsburgh area. A proud Pitt alumna, Alydia is also a 2018 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh’s Doctor of Education program, with dissertation research grounded in Black Feminist Thought and focused on Black women pursuing mentoring relationships at predominately white institutions.
In her career, Alydia has created several mentoring programs and other initiatives fostering inclusion and belonging that benefit underrepresented students. For all that she does to make a difference in her community, Alydia was recognized as a 2021 40 under 40 Honoree by Pittsburgh Magazine.