University President-elect Amy Gutmann made her first major administrative appointment yesterday when she announced Joann Mitchell as her vice president and chief of staff.
Mitchell -- who currently serves as the vice provost for administration at Princeton University -- was director of Penn's Affirmative Action Office for seven years before leaving for Princeton in 1993.
At Princeton, Mitchell oversees equal opportunity initiatives and policies, legal compliance issues and initiatives to achieve excellence in diversity, Gutmann said. In addition, she oversees all administrative issues and the budgetary process at Princeton.
"She's going to be a tremendous partner with me and others at Penn in moving forward my agenda for excellence and diversity," Gutmann said.
At Penn, Mitchell will be responsible for "carrying the president's initiatives forward, being my spokesperson for a wide range of initiatives and overseeing a set of offices in the President's Office," Gutmann said.
In addition to supervising affirmative-action-related offices under the President's Office, Mitchell will oversee the Ombudsman's Office, ceremonial events organization and the Almanac, among other divisions.
Mitchell said she looks forward to returning to Penn.
"I think the thing that's really exciting is the opportunity to really work closely with colleagues that I have worked with in the past, but also with new colleagues," Mitchell said.
She added that she wants to be "someone who helps try to build bridges of understanding between all the different constituents on campus and [make] sure that all people's voices are heard and are represented at the table."
Mitchell said her previous experience at Penn will be a valuable asset as Gutmann enters the Penn presidency on July 1.
"I think one of the strongest skills that I will bring is really my expertise in issues related to diversity in a setting in a great research university," Mitchell said. "I think it's a happy coincidence that I actually know many of the people that I'll be working closely with and have maintained my collegial relationships with them over the time that I've been away -- in exile, as Amy said --at Princeton," Mitchell said.
Gutmann stressed that Mitchell's experience with diversity in education is crucial to Penn's continued growth.
"We know that in a diverse democracy, in order to be at the forefront of every professional and academic initiative, you really have to draw on people from all nations, from all walks of life," Gutmann said.
Now that she has selected her vice president and chief of staff, Gutmann looks to fill other major administrative vacancies.
Among them is the position of vice president for development and alumni relations, which has been vacant since August 2002. "That's going to take significantly longer to fill," Gutmann said.
In addition, the search to replace current School of Arts and Sciences Dean Samuel Preston continues after he announced earlier this month that he will step down in December.
Gutmann said she has no further plans to recruit Princeton officials to Penn.
"Right now, Princeton's mourning Joann's loss," Gutmann said. "I don't want to have to give them any more cause for mourning."
"But I do want Penn to beat Princeton next year in basketball," Gutmann added.
