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

Haley Morgan Smith was named the inaugural chief diversity and belonging officer at Berry College in Rome, Georgia. Since 2020, she has served as director of diversity and inclusion at the college. She also has a career as a recording artist.

Smith has a bachelor’s degree in communication from what is now Shorter University in Rome, Georgia. She holds a master’s degree in transformational leadership with a concentration in peace studies and restorative justice from Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Lynette Yarger was appointed associate dean of equity and inclusion for the Schreyer Honors College at Pennsylvania State University. She had been serving in the role on a part-time basis. A professor of information sciences and technology in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, Dr. Yarger joined Schreyer Honors College in 2019 as the assistant dean for equity and inclusion. She joined the university’s faculty in 2002.

Dr. Yarger is a graduate of Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York, where she majored in computer and information systems. She holds a master’s degree and doctoral degree both in computer information systems from Georgia State University.

Nicole Del Castillo was named chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, effective August 16. She has been serving as the director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and as a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa.

Dr. Del Castillo received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Illinois. She earned a medical doctorate from the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. Dr. Del Castillo also holds a master of public health degree from Harvard University.