This story is developing and will continue to be updated.
More than a dozen titles of Penn staff members formerly associated with diversity, equity, and inclusion have changed since the start of President and 1968 Wharton graduate Donald Trump's second term.
Following Trump’s Jan. 21 executive order requiring federally funded universities — such as Penn — to terminate any diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that could be in violation of federal civil rights laws, Penn scrubbed DEI references from its websites. All mentions of diversity and affirmative action were wiped from Penn’s nondiscrimination and equal opportunity policies on Feb. 11, and Penn’s central DEI website was scrubbed three days later.
“We have initiated a review of our programs in this area to ensure that they are both consistent with the new federal government guidance and Executive Orders, federal, state, and local law, and our values,” the revised website reads. “We remain committed to providing a respectful and welcoming environment to our faculty, staff, and students.”
As Penn continues to roll back its DEI programs and initiatives, The Daily Pennsylvanian compiled recent changes to faculty positions associated with inclusion and diversity programs across the University.
Joann Mitchell, who formerly served as Penn’s first-ever chief diversity officer, is now listed as the senior vice president for Institutional Affairs — a title she also held before the change.
Prior to being named chief diversity officer in 2017, Mitchell had already been working on recruiting and mentoring faculty through Penn’s 2011 Action Plan for Faculty Diversity and Excellence.
Mitchell told the DP in 2017 that the “role is basically making real and visible a function that I had been carrying out for quite some time … me as a senior advisor trying to coordinate, collaborate with individuals who [are] working on diversity.”
She had previously served as the administrative liaison to the University Board of Trustees’ Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity, along with the Office of the Sexual Violence Investigative Officer, the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Programs, and the African American Resource Center.
Will Atkins, formerly the Associate Vice Provost for University Life — Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, is now listed as the Associate Vice Provost for University Life for Student Success and Engagement.
The Division of University Life is “reviewing its websites in accordance with University guidance to ensure compliance with recent federal directives and Executive Orders," Atkins wrote in response request for comment.
None of the other staff and faculty members whose positions have changed responded to requests for comment.
School of Arts and Sciences
According to the website for the School of Arts and Sciences’ newly named Office of Academic Excellence and Engagement, Brighid Dwyer — then Vice Dean for Diversity Equity and Inclusion — “provide[d] leadership in pursuit of the School’s core commitments to achieving and maintaining excellence through diversity.”
Dwyer is now listed as Vice Dean for Academic Excellence and Engagement, and the description of her position on the new website for the SAS Office of Academic Excellence and Engagement no longer includes the word ‘diversity’.
The description for Vanessa Gonzalez-Perez used to highlight her background as a “Latinx, first-gen scholar, service leader, mentor, coach, and a fierce advocate for the accessibility and success of underrepresented scholars in STEM.” As the former Associate Vice Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, her goals included fostering “more diverse and inclusive environments.”
Now listed as the Associate Vice Dean for Academic Excellence and Engagement, any reference to DEI in Gonzalez-Perez’s background and experience has been removed. The description of her new role make no mention of diversity and inclusion.
The role of former Administrative Coordinator of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Andrew Harris, has been renamed to match the new name of the office. His job description no longer includes the word ‘inclusive,' and now states he is simply “dedicated to promoting excellence.”
S. Shani Saunders, the former SAS DEI office program coordinator, now has a job description that emphasizes her work on initiatives that “enrich our community’s academic and cultural life.” Her experience in the realm of DEI, has been taken down from the Office of Academic Excellence and Engagement’s website, as well as a line highlighting her commitment to the phrase "representation matters."
The Wharton School
Renita Miller was previously listed on the now-removed Wharton DEI page as the chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer. According to the website, Miller was “responsible for leading and developing the comprehensive diversity, equity, and inclusion strategic plans, partnerships, programs, and initiatives for the faculty, staff, students, and alumni of the Wharton community.”
Miller also collaborated with Wharton administrators to bring inclusive practices to “core academic and co-curricular activities of the school,” including admissions, faculty hiring, and other programming.
The faculty page — including Miller’s position description — is no longer available as of Feb. 12. Miller is now only listed as Executive Director.
According to the Penn directory, Jonah Binstock is now listed as the dean’s office coordinator, after serving as the coordinator of the Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion.
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Emily Delany was formerly the program manager of Gender Equity Initiatives, according to the former website for the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Engineering school. She “collaborate[d] with the ODEI team to execute programming and initiatives, as well as serve[d] as the OAS (Office of Academic Services) liaison for ODEI staff and students” in the role.
Delany’s role was originally only changed to academic advisor and program manager, but has since been changed to the associate director of staff engagement, and is no longer listed on the new Cora Ingrum Center website.
The role of Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion — previously held by Camillo J. Taylor — has been shortened to associate dean. In the role, he served “as the advisor, advocate, catalyst for change, and institutional resource for elevating the core values of diversity, equity and inclusion in our community.” The description has since been removed.
Graduate School of Education
The Graduate School of Education — the last of Penn’s 12 graduate schools to scrub its website of references to DEI on on Feb. 21 — has also made changes to its faculty page.
Raquel Arredondo, who previously held the title of as the Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, is now listed in the faculty directory as the Assistant Dean of Climate and Community.
All mentions of DEI have been removed from Arredondo’s job description, which previously stated that she “drives School-wide DEIB initiatives and strategies in order to promote an inclusive learning and workplace environment.”
The revised page also replaced a description of Arrendondo’s “best practices among DEIB policies and procedures” and “global mindset for students, faculty, and staff” with a line that she now “support[s] Penn GSE’s commitment to community-building.”
The description of Jen McLaughlin Cahill’s role as a lecturer in Educational Practice Learning, Teaching, and Literacies Division Director of the Philadelphia Writing Project has been altered to remove reference to LGBTQ+ themes in her work.
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
Director of Education and Training Jamiella Brooks, Director of Operations and Strategic Initiatives Sam Lim, and Law professor Tobias Barrington Wolff, have all been removed from the Penn Carey Law DEI website.
Josie Pickens has been added to the website under the title Interim Associate Dean for Equal Opportunity and Engagement. She is the former Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer for Philadelphia.
Perelman School of Medicine
The staff list has been taken down from the DEI website for the Perelman School of Medicine, now renamed the Office of Equal Opportunity. The website has been replaced with a three-sentence statement about the office's review of DEI practices.
Roy Hamilton — who was the Vice Dean for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity for Penn Medicine — is now listed as the special advisor to the Dean. His job description previously reflected a “deep commitment to developing and supporting an environment grounded in diversity, respect, and tolerance for individuals of all backgrounds.” The website now instead reflects a “commitment to equal opportunity.”
The former Vice Dean for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity, Eve Higginbotham, is also no longer listed on the website. Other “key” OIDE members who are no longer on the website include Associate Director Kya Hertz, Associate Director Corrinne Fahl, and Director of Restorative Practices Jack Drummond.
School of Veterinary Medicine
Penn Vet Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, Roderick Gilbert no longer listed on the website.
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