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

Chloe Poston has been promoted to vice president for culture, belonging, and strategic engagement at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Dr. Poston has served as associate vice president for strategic initiatives since 2021. The new role is an operational position that focuses on building internal partnerships with unit leads and diversity practitioners to further diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging programs at Dartmouth.

Dr. Poston is a graduate of Clark Atlanta University. She holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Tanyka M. Barber is the inaugural vice president for institutional equity and chief diversity officer at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. She is the former director of diversity and EEO/Title IX coordinator at Morgan State University in Baltimore

Barber holds a bachelor’s degree from Morgan State University. She earned a master of health sciences degree from the Johns Hopkins University and a law degree from the University of Baltimore.

E. Cheryl Ponder has been named assistant vice chancellor for advocacy, inclusion, and support programs in the Division of Student Affairs and Campus Life at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She has served in the position on an interim basis since May 2022. She previously served as the vice president for student affairs at Alcorn State University in Mississippi.

Dr. Ponder holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and history from Dillard University in New Orleans. She earned an MBA at Clark Atlanta University and a Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy studies from the University of Oklahoma.