Four Women Who Have Been Appointed to Diversity Positions in Higher Education

Inginia Genao is the new vice dean of diversity, equity, and belonging at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine in Hershey. Dr. Genao comes to the College of Medicine from Yale School of Medicine, where she proved to be an accomplished leader in diversity, equity, and inclusion. She was a faculty member there for 16 years, first serving in the role of medical director of the Adult Primary Care Center, and later serving as the associate chair for diversity and inclusion in the department of medicine and as director of diversity, equity, and inclusion for Graduate Medical Education.

Dr. Genao is a graduate of Marymount College, where she majored in chemistry and biology. She holds a medical doctorate from the University of Rochester in New York.

Jacqueline M. Gatson was named assistant vice president of advancement for diversity, inclusion, and belonging at the Purdue for Life Foundation. In this role, she will oversee and support fundraising activity, foundation relations, industry partnerships, and community partnerships aimed at increasing representation and access for diverse students, faculty, and staff. She has been serving as associate director for Purdue University’s Minority Engineering Program.

Dr. Gatson is a graduate of Grambling State University in Louisiana. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in educational leadership from Kansas State University.

Crasha Townsend has been promoted to assistant provost for diversity and inclusion at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg. She was the director of the Student Opportunities and Achievement Resources program at the university.

Dr. Townsend is a graduate of Central Michigan University. She received a master’s degree in higher education administration with an emphasis on college student affairs leadership from Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, and a Ph.D. in educational leadership from Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho.

Dionne Jackson is the inaugural vice president for institutional equity at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. She will also serve as a part-time associate professor of education. She has been serving as chief equity officer for the mayor’s office in Little Rock, Arkansas. She previously was vice president for diversity and inclusion, chief diversity officer, and a tenured associate professor of education at Hendrix College, a liberal arts educational institution in Conway, Arkansas.

Dr. Jackson is a graduate of Hendrix College. She holds a master’s degree in education, with an emphasis on secondary leadership, from the University of Central Arkansas and a doctorate of education, with an emphasis on curriculum and instruction, from Baylor University in Waco, Texas.