Meet the new director of TU’s Center for Student Diversity

By Kyle Hobstetter on July 27, 2021

Phillips Thomas Hornbuckle never expected to stay in student affairs.

The second-generation University of Alabama alumna, who earned her bachelor’s degree and her Juris Doctor from the school, started working in higher education right after she graduated law school.

As she studied for the bar exam, Thomas Hornbuckle told herself working with students would be temporary. But after a year in the University of Alabama’s student affairs department, she was surprised at how much she loved it.

And after almost a decade in the field, Thomas Hornbuckle joined Towson University this past May as the new director of the Center for Student Diversity (CSD).

For the past six years, she worked in a multicultural affairs office for York College of Pennsylvania, a private college in Pennsylvania. When the opportunity to return to a public institution came, she jumped full force at the chance.

“During my interview, I warned them that on a scale of one to 10, I’m a strong eight or nine,” laughs Thomas Hornbuckle. “I am very good at being around people; I get a lot of energy from it. I love to role-model that in my work, which is how moving into DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) felt like a really natural progression.”

After a friend sent her the job posting, Thomas Hornbuckle started to research Towson University, including looking at the Diversity Strategic Plan. Diversity and Inclusion are a university priority. TU aims to provide ongoing teaching, learning, research and service opportunities to prepare students, faculty and staff to address diversity, inclusion and equity issues in disciplinary and interdisciplinary fields. 

She says she has a “Christmas wish list” when it comes to applying for a new job. As she learned more about what the CSD and the Office of Inclusion & Institutional Equity (OIIE) does for TU’s students, boxes on that wish list kept getting checked off.

“Looking at the job description, it was like 80, 90, 95% of the list. Then, as I grew to learn more about the office itself, about OIIE and about my individual team within the CSD, it just inched up and up until it was pretty much my dream next step,” Thomas Hornbuckle says. 

She also started to follow Towson University’s social media. Through it, she discovered how TU had awareness of who it was to different communities that make up the overall campus.

“I found that really attractive because we're encouraging students to understand who they are as people, to understand how they're perceived in different environments,” she says. “And the fact that Towson was illustrating their ability to do that and to show students how to do that through fun social media, but also through really thoughtful speakers and programs, really caught my eye.”

As she prepares for the fall, she’s excited to welcome students to the CSD office in the newly renovated University Union. When asked what students can expect when they meet with her, she looks back at her kindergarten progress report.

The teacher described her as a “mother hen.”

“One of my goals is to make sure students understand that I intend to care consistently and deeply about them as people, as students and as members of the Towson University community,” Thomas Hornbuckle says.

Along with that mothering/older sister mentality, Thomas Hornbuckle wants to help students navigate new environments and successfully engage with different groups.

She knows some were told growing up they were special and unique, while others were told the opposite.

Thomas Hornbuckle says that CSD is a commitment by TU to tell both areas of that population they are wrong.

“Yes, everyone is unique. But at the same time, there are a lot of people who think like you, who agree with you, who have experiences that lead them to reach similar conclusions about various aspects of life,” Thomas Hornbuckle says.

“The Center for Student Diversity offers space for [students] to develop an awareness of that, but also, even if you are the most predictable of all possible intersectional identities, there is a need for you to challenge yourself on those beliefs, opinions and experiences.”

Student diversity

The Center for Student Diversity

The Center for Student Diversity was established to aid the university in its efforts to foster inclusion, collaboration and relationship building. It provides academic, social and transitional support for underserved students and promotes exchanges and dialogue between individuals of diverse backgrounds and identities.

Stay up to date with CSD programs and services by following them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.