Affirmative action chief steps down

Mitchell will take Princeton job Affirmative Action Director Joann Mitchell announced her resignation Tuesday, after accepting a two-part job at Princeton University as associate provost and affirmative action officer. Mitchell, who has been working as affirmative action director for the past seven years, said her decision to leave the University was a difficult one. "It was a very hard decision to make," she said. "There are so many people I know and like here, but I decided it was really time to move on." Mitchell said her new job at Princeton represents a significant promotion from her present position. "Being associate provost [at Princeton] gives me the opportunity to really broaden my portfolio," she said. "I'll have more general duties and more responsibilities." Her last day at the University will be September 30, she said. Howard Arnold, an associate social work professor, will head the Affirmative Action Council – a group made up of faculty and students – which will advise the President's Office in finding a new director. Mitchell said she expects the administration to announce an interim director in the next few days. Interim Pro-vost Marvin Lazerson called Mitchell's new job a well deserved promotion. "Becoming associate provost is just a marvelous opportunity for Joann," he said. "She's so talented and so outstanding. I worked with her on affirmative action issues and she was a model of professionalism and compassion." He added that her talents – which helped to improve the University's AIDS and sexual harassment policies – would be missed. Assistant Provost and Assistant to the President Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum, who had worked very closely with Mitchell over the past several years, said she, too, will miss Mitchell. "I'm so close to her that it's hard to imagine her gone," McCoullum said. "I think Joann's wonderful new position will leave an enormous void in the Penn family." McCoullum added that although Mitchell's leaving puts an added workload on her desk, she hopes Mitchell finds success in her new position. "She's a woman of great integrity and strength," McCoullum said. "She's one of my best friends and I will miss her every hour, but I wish her well." Mitchell said she looks forward to her new job, but regrets having to leave the people she has worked with over the years. "I've met some phenomenal people here at Penn," she said. "That's probably contributed to my staying longer than I originally intended. I thought I'd only stay three to five years, not seven." Mitchell said, however, that "with a little bit of luck" she may one day return to the University in different capacity. Until then, she said, the campus will benefit from the "new blood" that a different affirmative action director will bring.