Dr. Shawna Nesbitt has been appointed UT Southwestern’s (UTSW) inaugural vice president and chief diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) officer. 
Dr. Shawna Nesbitt
Nesbitt is a professor of internal medicine in the division of cardiology and medical director of the Parkland Health’s Hypertension Clinic; a member of the UTSW President’s Council on Diversity & Inclusion; and a member of the UTSW Gold Humanism Honor Society.
Her research is around hypertension and cardiovascular risk, specializing in hypertension in African Americans, insulin resistance, and hyperlipidemia.
“Dr. Nesbitt’s decades of work in the areas of health inequity and hypertension, as well as the progress she helped the institution achieve in further diversifying our student population in her role as Associate Dean of Student Affairs, have prepared her for this important leadership position,” said UTSW President Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky. “I look forward to the progress she and her team will help UT Southwestern make as an institution committed to the values of diversity and inclusion, ensuring we are equitable as a workplace and in the ways we advance our mission.”
She has held roles including associate dean of student affairs in the Office of Student Diversity & Inclusion at UTSW; president and current trustee of the International Society on Hypertension in Blacks; and chair of the Health Equity Committee of the American Heart Association’s SouthWest Affiliate.
