Amoaba Gooden
Professor & Vice President, People, Culture & Belonging Kent State University
With more than 25 years of experience in higher education, organizational development, and equity-centered leadership, Dr. Amoaba Gooden is dedicated to empowering individuals to lead with clarity, purpose, and authenticity. She currently serves as Vice President for the Division of People, Culture and Belonging at Kent State University, where she also holds the position of full professor. As a certified executive coach and transformational leader, Dr. Gooden assists individuals in advancing their leadership capabilities, navigating change with assurance, and fostering inclusive cultures.
Dr. Gooden received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Guelph, as well as additional master’s and doctoral degrees from Temple University. Her scholarly contributions include editing the volume Gender and Sexuality in Ghanaian Societies (Lexington Press) and serving as editor for a special edition of the Southern Journal of Canadian Studies titled “Constructing Black Canada – Becoming Canadian.” She is also co-author of Advancing Anti-Racism Strategy on Campuses, a publication of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education. Dr. Gooden’s peer-reviewed work appears in numerous outlets, including African Canadian Leadership: Perspectives on Continuity, Transition, and Transformation, S’Tenistolw: Moving Forward in Indigenous Higher Education, and Wagadu: Journal of Transnational Women’s and Gender Studies.
Seminars
- Leading DPCB-managed offboarding and internal job transition processes in support of a university-wide academic transformation, including staff reductions and college/department mergers, by designing a care-centered framework focused on clear communication, employee support resources, and compassionate transition experiences.
- Merging the divisions of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Human Resources into a unified People, Culture & Belonging structure using a bell hooks– inspired “margin to center” framework shifting HR away from purely transactional work toward a more relational, transparent, community driven operating model
- Tracking culture change through climate, engagement, wellbeing, and exit survey data, targeting improvements in trust, belonging, and manager effectiveness indicators by feeding data back to leaders, identifying red flag divisions, and designing tailored interventions that move culture from insight to action
- How can HR redesign workflows and decision rights in higher education to reduce rework, escalation, and confusion without shifting undue burden back to departments?
- What behaviors and operating norms help HR move from reactive, transactional support to a trusted, authoritative partner for leaders, faculty, and staff?
- How can care‑centered approaches to restructuring, offboarding, and internal transitions be delivered with clarity and consistency in shared‑governance environments?
- What data sources best help institutions understand where trust, belonging, and manager effectiveness are breaking down across colleges and divisions?
