Poonam Arora Is Named Chief Diversity Officer, Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion at Grinnell College

Poonam Arora will join Grinnell College in July as associate dean of the college for diversity and inclusion, chief diversity officer, and Rosenfield Professor of Diversity and the Liberal Arts.

In this key leadership position, Arora will lead the college's efforts to recruit and retain a diverse faculty, administrative staff and student body. She also will work with students, faculty and staff to assure a safe, inclusive and secure environment for teaching and learning.

"This position is very important to Grinnell," said President Raynard Kington, "because it involves overseeing policy, practice and education. Poonam Arora has demonstrated her effectiveness as a diversity officer in the educational setting, and she also has a deep commitment to issues of diversity and inclusion in her own scholarship. I know that her efforts will complement the college's longstanding commitment to diversity and advance our efforts even further."

"Dr. Arora's professional experience in celebrating diversity and promoting inclusion, and her scholarly expertise on identity formation in pluralistic societies, make her a great addition to the Dean's Office team and to campus leadership in this important area," said Paula Smith, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college at Grinnell. "Her accomplishments in this field are significant, and we look forward to welcoming her and her family to the college."

"It will be my honor to position Grinnell as a leading voice in the critical debate on diversity in the liberal arts," said Arora. "I look forward to working with the Grinnell community."

About Poonam Arora

Poonam Arora has a long record of leadership in diversity and academe. Currently a professor of English at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn., she also served until 2012 as Hamline's associate vice president for diversity integration.

Prior to her appointment at Hamline, Arora was associate dean and professor of the College of Arts and Sciences at Zayed University, in the United Arab Emirates. Before that, she taught for nearly 20 years at the University of Michigan at Dearborn, first as a lecturer and then as associate professor of English and film studies. As chair of UM-Dearborn's humanities division, she oversaw nearly 100 faculty across a range of academic disciplines. She also directed the university's Writing Program and its Program in Women and Gender Studies.

As a diversity officer, Arora has designed faculty development initiatives, managed surveys to improve campus climate, and worked with people on and off campus to mediate conflict, develop effective policies, and improve recruitment and retention. Active in professional organizations, she is a member of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, the Association for Integrative Studies, and the Institute for International Education.

Arora's interest in diversity is also reflected in her teaching and research, which are rooted in gender and minority studies. With academic interests in Asian, African and African-American and ethnographic cinema, she has written chapters for several edited volumes and is an editor for the Journal of South Asian Literature. Her work also has been published in Jouvert: Journal of Post-Colonial Studies and the Journal of Film and Video, among others.

Arora earned her B.A. degree at St. Stephen's College in Delhi, India. She received her M.A. degree in English from the University of Delhi, and earned her Ph.D. degree at Binghamton University. She also holds a Graduate Diploma in American studies from Smith College and a Diploma in film appreciation from the Film and Television Institute of India.

About Grinnell College Since its founding in 1846, Grinnell has become one of the nation's premier liberal arts colleges, enrolling 1,600 students from all 50 states and from as many international countries. Grinnell offers the B.A. degree in a range of departments across the humanities, arts and sciences, and the college's rigorous academic program emphasizes excellence in education for students in the liberal arts. Grinnell has a strong tradition of social responsibility and action, and self-governance and personal responsibility are key components of campus life. More information about Grinnell College is available at www.grinnell.edu.

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