Our nation is experiencing a demographic shift. The proportion of racial minorities will significantly increase during the next several decades. Institutions of higher education will have to navigate issues of multiculturalism on campus. Issues of diversity, equity and inclusion are, and continue to be, significant matters for colleges and universities. A significant for the higher education community is who will be responsible for the oversight of diversity and furthering diversity goals at institutions of higher education. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the emergence of the chief diversity office, present day conceptions of diversity and the association of organizational structure and efficacy of the office. This study utilized a multisite case study design and narrative analysis to illuminate our understanding of chief diversity offices at research-intensive universities. The findings illuminated the distinct histories of diversity pertaining to campus climate at each institution that prompted the initiation of the chief diversity office. Key institutional players and the state and local context were influential in the formation of the offices at these schools. The study highlighted the present-day broad and all-encompassing conceptions of diversity at the institutions in the study. Findings also revealed the notion that organizational structure and positioning were significant matters for chief diversity offices. The findings of this study advance our understanding of how CDO offices emerge. Higher education professionals, leaders and administrators can utilize the results to make better-informed decisions about the formation and structure of diversity offices.