“Creating a truly inclusive environment requires intentional and sustained efforts. I am enthusiastic about working towards this goal in partnership with the Wharton community.”
— Renita Miller, Wharton Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer
Meet the DEI Team
Renita Miller
Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
BIO
Renita Miller is the inaugural Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer for the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. In this new role and as a member of Wharton’s senior leadership team, Renita is responsible for leading and developing the comprehensive diversity, equity, and inclusion strategic plans, partnerships, programs, and initiatives for the faculty, staff, students, and alumni of the Wharton community.
Renita works closely with the school’s leadership to integrate inclusive practices into the core academic and co-curricular activities of the school, including admissions, recruitment, faculty hiring and retention, curriculum development, training and development, and programming. She supports diversity, equity, and inclusion engagement among and across our many alumni audiences. Additionally, Renita engages with Human Resources to support staff hiring, retention, learning, and development. All efforts aimed at supporting and cultivating Wharton’s culture of dignity, respect, transparency, and appreciation of differences.
Renita brings significant experience in higher education, holding various academic and administrative positions throughout her career in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion; academic affairs; program development; talent pipeline strategy and implementation; teaching; research; and training and advising. Prior to joining Wharton, Renita served as Associate Dean for Access, Diversity and Inclusion and Executive Director of the Princeton Pre-Doctoral Fellowship Initiative in the Graduate School and Lecturer in the Politics Department at Princeton University. Renita was the Dean of Berkeley College and Lecturer in the Political Science Department at Yale University. She has also served as the Director of Studies at Forbes College and the Director of the Princeton Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (PSURE) at Princeton University. Her teaching and research focus on understanding the influence of race and representation with a particular focus on political rhetoric, deliberation, education policy, and leadership within political institutions. Renita was also a research fellow for the Project of Equity, Representation, and Governance at Texas A&M and the Kinder Institute of Urban Research at Rice University. Prior to her work in academia Renita worked as an education policy consultant and pharmaceutical sales representative and trainer.
Renita earned her Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Baylor University and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from Rice University.
Jonah C. Binstock
Coordinator
Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
BIO
Jonah joins the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion from across Locust Walk, in Huntsman Hall, where he has served the MBA Program’s Office of the Vice Dean and Office of Academic Affairs for the past two years. Already accustomed to being a primary point person on executing key cross divisional projects such as Wharton’s MBA Pre-Term, Jonah has also played an integral role in several initiatives from the Office of the Vice Dean including his work with the Dean’s MBA Advisory Council (DMAC). Additionally, Jonah was responsible for coordinating the annual Student Honors Reception and Student Leadership Appreciation Reception which acknowledges students who uphold the highest academic standards and who help shape the impacts of the students experience through leadership. Furthermore, Jonah has served on the Diversity & Inclusion Steering Committee (DISC) and the Diversity & Inclusion Engagement Board (DIEB). Through DISC Jonah has worked with other administrators to better understand the sense of belonging among our MBA students. Then, through DIEB, he has led a team composed of both administrators and students who grant financial support to student run programming which promotes DEI learning objectives. Prior to his time at Wharton, Jonah earned his undergraduate degree from Haverford College and then spent several years at UPenn’s Veterinary School both as an employee and student where he discovered his passion for leadership and administrative work.
Jonah is extremely excited to bring his talents and experience to support the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion through his new role as ODEI Coordinator.
DEI Highlights
Community Engagement Comes to Life
Tenure Project Carves Paths to Equity
Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at Wharton: A Closer Look
Through dozens of events, programs, partnerships, and organizations, we are continuously working to build a dynamic and purposeful community.
Fostering diversity among faculty and throughout coursework
- Wharton is a member of The National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity, which provides resources and support around integrating into the faculty body and achieving work-life balance.
- Wharton is among the PhD Project’s expansive network of supporters, sponsors, and universities who help underrepresented minorities attain their business PhD and become the business professors who will mentor the next generation of leaders.
- Wharton’s Initiatives for Teaching And Learning Excellence encourages professors to consider diversity and representation when creating their academic programs.
- The Wharton School’s innovative partnership with Morgan State University, a historically black university in Baltimore, is a mutually beneficial exchange of business education resources and insight into the value that diversity brings to the business world.
Expanding opportunities for diverse leaders through non-degree programs
- High School: Wharton’s Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) Program encourages youth of diverse backgrounds to pursue undergraduate degrees in business, while the Summer Math and Science Honors (SMASH) program strives to fill the gaps in secondary education that can otherwise render students underprepared for a business education.
- Executive Education: Women’s Executive Leadership: Business Strategies for Success helps female business leaders gain invaluable insight into their personal leadership styles and career strengths, and master the building blocks of business acumen.
Initiating conversations through conferences and events
- An expansion of the Tarnopol Dean’s Lecture Series, Beyond Business is an ongoing conversation that explores the most complex and pressing issues impacting individuals and organizations across the world.
- Conferences such as Leading Diversity@Wharton, the Howard E. Mitchell Memorial Conference, the Black Ivy League Business Conference, the Whitney M. Young Memorial Conference, the Wharton Women’s Summit, and the Women in Business Academia Conference cultivate connections among students, alumni, and members of the business community while adding the richness of the Wharton experience.
- The Undergraduate Diversity and Inclusion Speakers Fund supports student-run speaker events that focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion and that encourage dialogue and community engagement.
- Wharton Women at the undergraduate level and Wharton Women in Business for MBA student support, empower, and connect women with personal and professional development.
- One Wharton Week is dedicated to student-initiated programming about inclusion and managing across differences.
- Women’s Circles provide Wharton alumnae with a network of support and empowerment.
- Introduction to Diversity in Doctoral Education and Scholarship, or IDDEAS, is a two-day program that seeks to introduce a diverse group of promising undergraduate students to business research at the doctoral level to ultimately encourage student and faculty diversity.
Leveraging the Power of Penn
- As an integral member of the Penn community, the Wharton School shares the university’s commitment to understanding and appreciating diversity. Penn has become a best-practice model in this arena, and its leadership informs and enriches our own efforts to foster diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
- The Penn Program for Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies provides an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to take an interdisciplinary approach to a variety of topics concerning gender, race, sexuality, and women in society, culture, history, and language.
- The Penn Women’s Center promotes gender justice and empowers, supports, and advances personal and professional development for women and female identified persons. Students, staff, and faculty of all genders and identities are welcome.
- La Casa Latina is the Center for Hispanic Excellence. Not only is it a supportive environment where all students are welcomed and engaged, it also plays a role in promoting greater awareness of Latinx issues, culture, and identity at Penn.
- The University welcomes differently abled students and is committed to providing the same exceptional opportunities to all Penn students.
- Critical to diversity on campus is our location within the diverse city of Philadelphia, whose business community has the opportunity to lead the nation by example and make the case for why inclusion of all races, ethnicities, sexual identities, and abilities is good for business.
Contact Us
For any questions regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion at the
Wharton School, please contact the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
