October 23, 2023 

Media Contacts:  
Jennifer Korfiatis, WVC interim public information officer, jkorfiatis@wvc.edu 

Joe Eubanks was named as the Wenatchee Valley College Executive Director of Climate, Culture, Diversity, and Belonging. Eubanks began his new position on Oct. 16.  

As the executive director of climate, culture, diversity, and belonging, Eubanks will serve in the newly created Center for Excellence and Inclusive Belonging, where he will work to create a welcoming and inclusive environment at WVC, in addition to serving as an advisor to the college president, and partnering with Human Resources to provide training and support to faculty, staff, and administrators. 

WVC President Dr. Faimous Harrison explained that the Center for Excellence and Inclusive Belonging will host individual and group training, workshops, meetings, and other forms of relationship-building, learning opportunities, and social events. An additional goal of the center is to foster an inclusive, high-functioning, growth-minded learning organization whose foundational pillars are built on shared understanding and values and strengthening workplace culture and inclusion efforts throughout the district. 

Eubanks hails from New Orleans, La. He noticed a need for social reform at a young age after the widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina. He attended the University of Mississippi, where he majored in political science. While attending university, he developed an intense interest in changing political narratives around Black poverty. Eubanks is passionate about public service and policy, which helped to spark a student-led campaign against Confederate flag displays at the University of Mississippi.  

He later received his master's degree from the University of Kansas in leadership in diversity and inclusion. While he was there, Eubanks assisted in the organizing effort that created the first criminal defense office in Douglas County, Kan. The efforts helped create the Kansas Holistic Defenders, which worked to help under-served and working-class Kansans.  

"I appreciated learning about Joe’s theoretical educational background and advocacy for supporting and advancing DEI initiatives and creating an inclusive belonging culture at different public and private organizations,” Harrison said. “Mr. Eubanks’ professional and practical experiences working for a large employer in a similar role demonstrates his expertise and ability to foster a welcoming workplace culture among diverse groups and stakeholders. These experiences will help guide him in advancing our bold vision of developing a culture of excellence and becoming the higher education institution of choice for our region and beyond.”   

Before joining WVC, Eubanks was the inaugural director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging at Community Health Care in Tacoma, Wash., where he provided leadership in systemic equity and instructional practice, and where he created the organization’s first DEIB Council.  

 Eubanks also volunteers for the National Association for Public Defense, Special Olympics Kansas, and the ACLU of Kansas. 

He is committed to creating a more just and equitable society in which all have the opportunity to thrive not just survive, and he lives by the quote from his favorite athlete Muhammad Ali, who says “Don’t count the days, make the days count.” 

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Wenatchee Valley College enriches North Central Washington by serving educational and cultural needs of communities and residents throughout the service area. The college is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion for all students and employees and provides high-quality transfer, liberal arts, professional/technical, basic skills and continuing education for students of diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds. Visit our website, wvc.edu. 

Wenatchee Valley College is committed to a policy of equal opportunity in employment and student enrollment. All programs are free from discrimination and harassment against any person because of race, creed, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a service animal by a person with a disability, age, parental status or families with children, marital status, religion, genetic information, honorably discharged veteran or military status or any other prohibited basis per RCW 49.60.030, 040 and other federal and state laws and regulations, or participation in the complaint process. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies and Title IX compliance for both the Wenatchee and Omak campuses: 

To report discrimination or harassment: Title IX Coordinator, Wenatchi Hall 2322M, (509) 682-6445, title9@wvc.edu. 

To request disability accommodations: Director of Student Access, Wenatchi Hall 2133, (509) 682-6854, TTY/TTD: dial 711, sas@wvc.edu.