In an effort to increase campus diversity, University President John J. DeGioia announced Wednesday the creation of a new vice presidential-level position for institutional diversity and equity, naming Rosemary Kilkenny as the new office’s first head.

Kilkenny, formerly a special assistant to the university president for affirmative action programs, assumed her new position on April 1. She said that the administration created the position to develop a “coherent and comprehensive program to promote diversity, equity and inclusivity at Georgetown University.”

“As a member of the president’s cabinet, my presence at the proverbial table will ensure that diversity becomes institutionalized and woven into the fabric of our academic enterprise,” Kilkenny said.

Kilkenny’s office is the highest administrative position focused on the promotion of diversity on campus. She said that she intends to promote diversity on campus “by collaborating with academic, administrative [and] student constituencies and other units of the university.”

Kilkenny said that DeGioia created the position in part to help the university become a model for diversity, and added that her work would contribute bringing students, faculty and other constituents of Georgetown together for a common goal.

Tonya Hinds, assistant director of the Office of Affirmative Action Programs, said that

Kilkenny has “often voiced her wishes for a more inclusive campus and administration,” and said this new position would allow Kilkenny to bring changes through her previous experience with administrative issues.

“Rosemary’s personality and background as an attorney and specialist in affirmative action and diversity greatly compliments and aptly fits with her new role as a trailblazer in maintaining and promoting equity in higher education and beyond,” Hinds said.

Kilkenny, whose son Amadou Kilkenny-Diaw is a forward on the men’s basketball team, has worked for the Office of Affirmative Action Programs for over 25 years. In a campus-wide broadcast e-mail announcing her appointment, DeGioia said that Kilkenny has experience administering issues like employment discrimination and educational equity, as well as workshops and training sessions for the university’s faculty and staff.

“We are extremely fortunate to have someone of Ms. Kilkenny’s knowledge and experience to bring leadership to this vital position,” DeGioia wrote in the e-mail. “She has ably represented Georgetown on matters of employment discrimination, educational equity, Title IX compliance, conflict resolution and other issues.”

Kilkenny will now oversee various campus-wide efforts to strengthen diversity.

Although she said that the administration will seek input from the university community before defining specific goals for her office, Kilkenny said that she expects to make diversity a focus of her future goals for the university.

“My goals for Georgetown are to fully integrate diversity principles into our mission, into our student recruitment processes, in our hiring policies and practices,” she said.

Kilkenny added that she feels “privileged and honored” at her appointment and said Georgetown’s unique community will help her build a constructive connection with the university in achieving her goals.

“There is so much potential on this campus,” she said. “There is a certain amount of good will and there are resources available that we can fuse to face the challenge that lies ahead.”

Kilkenny spend her undergraduate years at Kent State University and received her law degree from Georgetown’s Law Center. She has also served as a board member of the American Association of Affirmative Action, a nonprofit organization of professionals working on issues of diversity and affirmative action.