Dr. Ty-Ron Douglas (aka Dr. Ty) serves as the first-ever Associate Athletics Director for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging & Justice (DEIBJ) at Cal. In his role, Dr. Douglas and his team mobilize DEIBJ frameworks to educate, celebrate and accelerate DEIBJ training, sensibilities, programs, policies, and practices - with a focus on underrepresented and historically marginalized populations. He serves as a thought leader, morale-lifter, and advocate for student-athletes, coaches, staff and administrators, and a liaison to other constituents across campus. He has led signature campus activations like the Champions of Justice celebration of Drs. Harry Edwards, John Carlos & Tommy Smith, and he also serves as the Voice of Cal Soccer.
Dr. Douglas came to Berkeley from the University of Missouri, where he was an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis and an affiliate faculty member in the university's Black Studies Program. He has served as a SEC Visiting Faculty Scholar at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and the Visiting Distinguished Professor of the Future Gen Cancer Scholars Program of Brown University Health.
While Douglas is an educator, he is also an activist, public speaker and author. He is the founder of a community organization that bridges community, corporations and university affiliations to uplift youth. He has directed research studies and consulted for various collegiate and professional athletic organizations, including a NCAA-funded study on the identities of Black male student-athletes and research on the journeys of South African female Olympic hopefuls.
Dr. Douglas grew up in Bermuda and earned his bachelor's degree in English with a minor in sociology from Oakwood University in Alabama. He went on to earn master's degrees from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and Andrews University, and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Dr. Douglas has written or edited five books and over 25 journal articles. In 2023, he was selected as the Professional of the Year by the Black Student Athlete Summit (BSAS) and serves as co-mentor for the Black Student Athlete Community (BSAC) at Cal - an engagement group that was selected as Student-Athlete Group of the Year at the 2024 Black Student Athlete Summit.
