Reg Chhen Stewart

Dr. Reginald “Reg” Chhen Stewart is a firm believer that education at all levels is a right and not a privilege. As Chapman University’s inaugural Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, he serves as the senior DEI strategist and supports all functions of the university.

Over the past three decades, he has provided support and leadership for a broad spectrum of equity, inclusion and diversity initiatives at both public and private institutions with student enrollments ranging from 650 to more than 36,000. As a connector of the university and the community, he supports diversity and inclusion efforts involving local government, business development, nonprofit leaders, school districts and elected officials.

Dr. Stewart has received recognition from the U.S. Department of Education, former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the College Board, Excelencia in Education, the NAACP, the Nevada System of Higher Education and the Ames (Iowa) Chamber of Commerce. He has served as a Nevada Humanities Scholar, and his TEDx Talk, “Cultural (il)Literacy: What Modern America Needs to Know,” is widely used as a teaching tool in both corporate and educational settings. In 2019, Dr. Stewart was recognized with the Ames, Iowa, Humanitarian Award.

A first-generation college graduate of San Francisco State University, Dr. Stewart says his most influential educational experiences include learning history from Mr. Calderwood at Bishop O’ Dowd High School and embracing that complex problems are best solved using diverse perspectives from his executive education classmates at the Harvard Kennedy School. Dr. Stewart earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Nevada, Reno, with a major in Educational Leadership.

An avid supporter of the arts, Dr. Stewart has served on the Board of Trustees for the Octagon Center for the Arts in Ames, Iowa, and the Board of Directors for the African American Museum of Iowa.