Grinnell Appoints Jin Feng as Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Jin Feng, Professor of Chinese and Japanese and the Orville and Mary Patterson Routt Professor of Literature, has been named the Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Grinnell College, beginning July 1, 2021.

In this role, Jin will oversee programs and initiatives that support faculty in the various stages of their career trajectories. The position represents the dean on the Committee for the Support of Faculty Scholarship, the Institute for Global Engagement, the Council on Diversity and Inclusion, serves as secretary of the Personnel Committee, provides support for the development of chairs and other faculty leaders, and develops programming for faculty.

Jin will also lead diversity and inclusion efforts in Academic Affairs including but not limited to, hiring processes, programming and workshop implementation, grants, curricular and pedagogical development, and other developmental opportunities.

“Jin is a highly accomplished scholar and teacher who has provided exemplary service to her field, her students, and to Grinnell College since her arrival in 2001. Jin’s substantial body of scholarship explores cultural exchange between China and the West. She is a true teacher-scholar whose research has both shaped and been shaped by her teaching and mentored research with students,” said Elaine Marzluff, Interim Dean of the College and Breid-McFarland Professor of Science.

Jin has served on the Executive Council and Faculty Organization Committee, as well as Chair of the Department of Chinese and Japanese. She has helped to sustain Grinnell College’s long-standing relationships with Nanjing University and Waseda University, including mentoring visiting faculty fellows. Marzluff added, “Jin’s commitment to faculty development and mentoring faculty throughout the stages of careers and leadership and experience will be beneficial to the Grinnell Community.”