Three Women Who Have Been Appointed to Diversity Posts in Higher Education

Julie Bernard is the inaugural vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion at Norwich University in Vermont. She has been serving as interim chair and associate professor in East Tennessee State University’s department of counseling and human services.

Dr. Bernard holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy, and a doctorate in child development and family studies, all from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Amoaba Gooden, an associate professor of Pan-African studies at Kent State Univerity in Ohio, has been given the added duties as vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion at the university. She began her Kent State career as an assistant professor in 2006. She will be promoted to full professor this fall.

Dr. Gooden received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from the University of Guelph in Canada. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in African-American studies from Temple University in Philadelphia.

Charlene Holmes was appointed director of diversity and engagement at Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts. Most recently, she was president and CEO of Imana Borena in New York, where she oversaw the organization’s executive leadership programs, including diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Holmes holds a bachelor’s degree in health science from Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York, and a master’s degree of professional studies in sports management from St. John’s University in Queens, New York.