Morgan Diaz Named Director of Residence Life for Graceland University

Graceland University is pleased to announce Morgan Diaz ’12 as the director of Residence Life for the Lamoni, Iowa, campus.

Graceland’s residence life director provides leadership to the university’s innovative house system and oversees the residence life program and university housing. This person serves as one of the primary catalysts in facilitating a vibrant on-campus living experience for Graceland’s Lamoni campus students.

“Morgan is both experienced and knowledgeable about residence life in general and student development in particular. She gets Graceland culture and has the right balance of operational know-how and relational aptitude,” shared Dave Schaal, Vice President for Student Life.

Diaz grew up in Cameron, Missouri and graduated from Graceland in 2012 with a major in athletic training and a minor in church leadership. During her time as a student, Diaz was heavily involved in residence life and served as Shalom’s house president her junior year and the president of the council of house presidents her senior year. 

Since graduating from Graceland, Diaz has served in various residence life leadership roles at multiple higher education institutions, earned her Master’s degree in Higher Education/Higher Education Administration and is expected to graduate from the University of Northern Colorado with her PhD in Higher Education and Student Affairs Leadership in May of 2022.

For the past 3 years, she has served as the Coordinator of the Stryker Institute for Leadership Development. In this most recent role, Diaz has given leadership to multiple initiatives focusing on social justice, including weekly workshops focused on social justice, leadership and mentorship for 100+ women who hold under-represented identities.

When asked about returning to her alma mater Diaz said, “It was a big decision to come back, but it felt like it was my time to return to Graceland. I was ready and excited for what’s in store for Graceland’s future and I knew I wanted to be a part of the mission moving forward.”