Chief Diversity Officer and Title IX Coordinator
Suffolk County Community College
Christina Vargas is the Chief Diversity Officer and Title IX Coordinator at Suffolk County Community College. Throughout her career, she has displayed a passion for social justice, multiculturalism, equity and inclusion and has worked to bring various communities together in partnership. SUNY Suffolk is the largest community college in the SUNY system and a Hispanic Serving Institution. As a member of the President’s Cabinet, she is responsible for leading strategic efforts to build a more equitable and inclusive academic community that fosters student success. Ms. Vargas created, designed and teaches in the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) professional development institute for faculty and staff; is a facilitator for the Braver Spaces LGBTQ+ allyship program; and co-chairs the President’s Equity and Inclusion Council. She oversees civil rights and sexual violence compliance including the implementation of anti-discrimination policies, grievance procedures, investigations, resolutions, prevention programs and training. She is an executive level strategist and partner with all divisions including Academic and Student Affairs, Human Resources, Legal Affairs and Planning and Institutional Effectiveness. She serves on various committees and task forces including the Strategic Planning Council; the Undocumented students, LGTBQ+ and Black and African American student task forces; and Hispanic Serving Institution task force. She advises and builds capacity within the senior leadership team using values and skills such as understanding and honoring differences; connection and respect; lifelong learning; and building trust. In 2019, she successfully wrote a SUNY PRODiG grant totaling $245K to provide support for underrepresented faculty. In 2020, she was selected as a member of the SUNY Hispanic Leadership Institute and now serves on its steering committee.
Ms. Vargas is an adjunct lecturer for the Master’s Program in Higher Education Administration at Stony Brook University where she teaches the course Diversity and Higher Education. In 2018, she was the recipient of the program’s Faculty Excellence Award. She spent 20 years of her career at Stony Brook University, serving as the Director of Diversity and Affirmative Action and Title IX Coordinator for all of the University’s academic and administrative areas, Stony Brook Medicine and the Long Island State Veteran’s home. During her time at Stony Brook, she was responsible for Presidential Diversity and inclusion initiatives including the President’s Task Force on Campus Climate, Operational Excellence planning, and served as a member of the University Hospital and Nursing Cultural Diversity Committees. Ms. Vargas developed proactive programs and outreach activities to increase recruitment, selection and retention of underrepresented populations in all academic and administrative areas of the University and ensure a climate of success. She also organized and founded many University events and traditions including Diversity Day, the Diversity Fellows, Safe Spaces program, Hispanic Heritage Month, Black History Month and Women’s History Month celebrations. In 1998, she began serving as the staff advisor to Omega Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Theta Chapter and had the incredible honor of being inducted into the sorority as an honorary sister in 2006.
Since 2004, Christina has served on the Board of Directors for ERASE Racism, Inc. whose mission is to engage in research, advocacy, and education regarding institutional and structural racism in the Long Island region. She served as ERASE’s board co-chair for five years. She has also served on the Suffolk County Police Reform and Reinvention Task force and the Suffolk County Hispanic Advisory Board. She is the recipient of multiple awards including the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Professional Service, Long Island Business News Diversity in Business Award, First Baptist Church of Riverhead Martin Luther King Jr. Award for Meritorious Service, and the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission Lawrence Timpa Memorial Award. She was given the honor of serving as the 2018 Grand Marshal of the 52nd annual Long Island Puerto Rican/Hispanic Day Parade.
Ms. Vargas received her Bachelor of Science in Business Management and her Master of Science in Management and Policy from Stony Brook in addition to a Diversity Management Certification as an Advanced Practitioner from Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She is a past President of Stony Brook University’s Alumni Association and was the first person of color to serve in this role. She is one of the co-founders of Stony Brook’s Black and Latino Alumni Network.
In 2018, Christina and her now-husband, Curt Hylton, were newly engaged and had been four days into vacation in Jamaica when Curt began showing signs of stroke. They have shared their stroke survivor and caregiving journey with medical students, health professionals and many others to raise awareness and increase prevention of stroke, especially in communities of color. Christina and Curt lecture annually to students at the Renaissance School of Medicine and served as the keynote speakers for the Stony Brook University School of Health Professions Diversity Conference. In March 2024, she was named a finalist for the American Stroke Association Stroke Hero Awards.