Scott Vignos, JD
Scott Vignos joined Oregon State University in October 2015 and has served as Interim Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer since September 2021. In this role, Scott collaborates with partners across the university to design and lead the Office of Institutional Diversity’s portfolio of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Scott is responsible for guiding implementation of the university’s diversity strategic plan – Innovate & Integrate: Plan for Inclusive Excellence – and consulting with university leaders to create a more just and equitable Oregon State. He serves on the President’s Cabinet, and a variety of university-level committees and task forces.
Scott has an enduring passion for pursuing justice through action. He practiced law in San Francisco at an international law firm and maintained a pro bono practice with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area representing clients seeking asylum in the United States. He has worked at the UC Davis School of Law, designing and leading programs to diversify the legal profession, at the East Bay Community Law Center, advocating for low-income and formerly-incarcerated residents of Oakland and Alameda County, and at the UC Davis Immigration Law Clinic, representing non-citizen clients in all phases of removal and asylum proceedings.
Scott is the son of an Indian immigrant and his husband is an associate professor at OSU. His intersectional approach to advancing equitable organizational transformation is informed by his lived experience as a multi-racial, gay man.
Scott earned his J.D. from UC Davis School of Law and his B.A. from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the Corvallis Community Involvement and Diversity Advisory Board.