Darius Newsome

Darius Newsome grew up in the Austin community on Chicago’s Westside. Newsome graduated
from UIC College Prep High School and went on to graduate from the University of Illinois at
Chicago (UIC) where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Criminology. Newsome decided to
continue his educational journey and earned a Master’s of Public Administration with a
concentration of Urban Governance from UIC’s College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs.
While attending graduate school, Newsome worked as a graduate assistant in UIC’s Office of
Community and Corporate Relations and the office of the assistant vice chancellor of external
engagement for the University of Illinois Health System. While a graduate assistant at UIC,
Newsome’s efforts include lending assistance in planning the Community Conversation hosted
by the Obama Foundation in collaboration with UIC. He also helped develop, plan and execute
comprehensive community engagement strategies.
During graduate school, Newsome was elected to the University of Illinois Board of Trustees
by his peers. Newsome had a strong desire to be involved on campus and felt the position
would give him a unique opportunity to stand up for issues that he cared about. He
advocated for efforts to maintain a diverse student body and provide easily accessible higher
education to traditionally marginalized groups among many other issues related to the
86,000 students that make up the University of Illinois system.
Newsome currently serves as the Director for Educational Partnerships at UIC where he
directs the design and implementation of the interface with community based organizations
and other external partners. In addition, Newsome is responsible for identifying internal and
external partnerships and opportunities to recruit and retain underrepresented students.
Moving forward, Newsome plans to apply the plethora of knowledge and experience working
with those same external partnerships and community organizations, to uplift the community
that helped mold Mr. Newsome into the success story that he is today. Growing up on the
Chicago’s far West Side, Darius shares strong personal and professional connections to the
community in which he is truly dedicated to make a change.
Darius Newsome maintains his passion and dedication to improving his community and
elevating the voices of people who have been traditionally marginalized.