Vernice M. Monroe is a native of Kansas City, Missouri, where she earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Missouri at Columbia. She joined the faculty at Lamar University in 1970 and served as the Director of the Social Work Program from 1976-2008. She was awarded the honorary title of Associate Social Work Professor Emeritus upon her retirement in 2008. From 2008 to the present, she has served as Special Assistant to the President for University Multicultural Enhancement. In collaboration with administration, faculty, staff and students, she seeks to build a community that values and respects the differences and commonalities that each and every individual brings to Lamar. The goal of all university programming is the focus on the needs of our diverse student body and to ensure that the right conditions are in place for each student to feel valued, respected and supported.
In addition to service on numerous community boards, she has served on regional and state committees. In 1993, she was appointed by Governor Ann Richards to serve as a Commissioner for the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Nominated by Leadership Beaumont, she received the Distinguished Leadership Award from the National Association for Community Leadership in April 1998. She has also conducted numerous trainings and workshops on diversity and inclusion.
Currently, she serves as one of the Board of Managers for the Beaumont Independent School District, and as a member of the board of directors for CASA, IEA, and CrimeStoppers.
