Michael Dixon Says Farewell After 9 Incredible Years
Jarred Hubbard
Michael Dixon, the chief diversity officer at Manchester, is moving to a new university—and state—after nine years of service. His last day of work was Oct. 18, before relocating to Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. He will be the chief inclusion and diversity officer while serving on the Cabinet.
“I will become a decision maker as well,” Dixon stated. “If I’m going to make a move, I’m going to make a move to a school similar to what I have already done.” Dixon started off his career at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, and moved to St. Ambrose in Davenport, Iowa. Manchester University was his third stop.
He originally applied twice for an admissions job but was denied. “Then they handed my admissions material to the hiring committee for the Diversity department and they called later,” Dixon said. “I’ve been here ever since.”
Dixon is most proud of the growth of the school—from college to university—and the mark that he has left on students. “I still have a student that contacts me to this day,” he said. “He told me that I have had a huge impact on his life; those words still stick with me and I will continue to push myself and touch students all across the country one by one.”
He celebrated his time at MU at Manchester Madness by leading a team in a dance battle. “I wanted everyone to know that I can have fun too; I’m not always a teacher,” Dixon said. “We just do things here with a little bit more flavor and fun.”
Dixon is aware that this move can be hard at first, but he knows that it will all work out and come together in time. “I have two sons and my future life partner watching every move I make,” he said. “I have no choice but to roll with the punches and make this move work.
“My one son, Michael III, was really scared that he wasn’t going to finish first grade,” he continued. But Dixon has come up with a solution: The boys and their mother will stay in North Manchester while he prepares their home in Pennsylvania so they can come in June. “My other son Quincy is only 3, so he doesn’t care too much,” Dixon said. “He has fun all day every day and will just have to get used to the new things and surroundings. He’s very persistent and he is ready to open the gates to his future with his family alongside him.”
What will he miss the most? “I enjoy the relationships that I built with faculty and staff but the students have all kept me motivated and kept my experience here special,” he said.