IX 365 · Strategic Responsiveness Series · Course No. 05
The 2026
Engagement Officer
The evolving role, mandate, and skill set for professionals leading access, opportunity, and inclusive excellence work today.
FULL COURSE + EXECUTIVE BRIEFING + APPLICATION WORKBOOK
About this course
This course examines the rapidly changing role of the Diversity Officer, increasingly understood as an Engagement Officer, in a period when the institutional work of access, opportunity, belonging, community, Inclusive Excellence, student success, civil rights, and organizational culture is being reorganized rather than simply abandoned. Drawing on the changing higher education landscape, participants explore how traditional diversity leadership is evolving through renamed offices, expanded portfolios, distributed responsibility, compliance integration, and new engagement models. The course considers what leaders must know as the role moves beyond stewardship of a DEI portfolio toward a broader mandate: helping institutions engage difference, strengthen belonging and community, expand opportunity, navigate legal and political complexity, sustain institutional values, and align people, culture, mission, and strategy. Participants leave with a practical framework for understanding the emerging Engagement Officer role, assessing their institution’s current leadership architecture, and positioning the function for relevance, credibility, and impact in the next era of institutional leadership.
What you receive
Three components.
Every course.
The Full Course
Self-paced video modules, fully online, 12 months of access.
The Executive Briefing
The course’s core frameworks and findings, in video and written form, distilled for reference.
The Application Workbook
Applied exercises that translate the course to your own institution.
License. Every enrollment is a single-user license for your own professional use. IX 365 materials are not licensed for teaching, consulting, or reproduction for others, and IX 365 does not offer commercial licensing.
Teams and groups. Enrolling more than one person, or building a custom package for your unit or campus, happens through a conversation with our team as part of the Institutional Partner program. Talk with us.
Your instructor
Dr. Damon A. Williams
Chief Catalyst
Author of Strategic Diversity Leadership and The Chief Diversity Officer. One of the original architects of the Inclusive Excellence framework in organizational life. Has worked with more than 1,000 organizations and taught the Strategic Responsiveness and Engagement Model™ to nearly 10,000 leaders since 2023.
Your first step is free. Download the Strategic Responsiveness and Engagement Model™ Brief at no cost. From there, choose the level that fits: $397, $549, $1,997 a year, $3,497, or institutional licensing from $500 per seat. The Brief is included at every level.
Enroll today.
The 2026 Engagement Officer: the Full Course, the Executive Briefing in video and written form, and the Application Workbook. $549, 12 months of access. Or unlock the entire curriculum with IX 365 Membership.
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Dr. Damon A. Williams · Chief Catalyst · Center for Strategic Leadership & Social Innovation