Givens earned her MA and PhD in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles.

[1][2][3] Givens was provost and a full professor at Menlo College where she focused on the success of first-generation students and helped update the curriculum, where she was the first African-American and woman to serve in the role.

She has been a member of the board of the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula,[6] Fit Kids,[7] and was the founder and CEO of the Center for Higher Education Leadership.

[9] Givens' academic research has focused on immigration politics and antidiscrimination policy at the national level in Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, and policy developments at the European Union level.

[10][11] At McGill University, Givens is leading an effort to hire and retain more Black professors.