Elena M. Bernal '94, special assistant to the president, has been promoted to vice-president for diversity and achievement.

Bernal returned to the college in 2007 to lead and assess campus diversity efforts, including Grinnell's participation in the Posse Foundation program which brings underrepresented urban students to the Iowa campus. She also served as interim vice-president of student affairs in 2008 and is currently directing a campus assessment to identify gaps between the college's core value of diversity and the lived experiences of students, faculty, and staff.

"I approach diversity and achievement with a focus on evidence and outcomes in order to illuminate critical gaps and successes," Bernal said. "This allows everyone, regardless of personal identity or viewpoint, to participate in developing solutions and fostering community."

Bernal will add to her current duties supervision of the College's Office of Institutional Research and the collaborative supervision of staff in other administrative functions that promote and support diversity at Grinnell.

"This innovative administrative approach reinforces our core values of diversity and excellence in the liberal arts by placing inclusive achievement at the center of the Grinnell education and employment experience," said President Russell K. Osgood.

Bernal earned a B.A. in sociology from Grinnell in 1994 and a master's in educational administration and foundations from Illinois State University in 1996. She attended Pennsylvania State University, pursuing a Ph.D. in the higher education program of the education policy studies department. Before returning to Grinnell, she served as director of institutional research at Bryn Mawr College.