President Russell K. Osgood is the Twelfth President of Grinnell College and Professor of History and Political Science. President Osgood is the senior academic administrative figure at the college. The Office of the President is involved in the entire range of issues that concern the college. The major issues the President's office deals with include: academic issues, student life, administrative and facilities concerns, external relations with both alumni and other institutions of higher education, and community relations. The President travels extensively but is also a fully participating member of the daily campus routine. On a given day, the President and/or the other staff of the office will meet with students, teach a class, consider an administrative or budgetary matter at a staff meeting, talk on the telephone with an official of another institution of higher education, and probably deal with several alumni and perhaps parents of current students.

E-mail: osgood@grinnell.edu
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Elena M. Bernal '94 Vice-President for Diversity and Achievement. She advises and partners with the President to achieve and enhance the College's strategic vision and plans for advancing Grinnell as a diverse, robust intellectual community. She brings a comprehensive understanding of the role of diversity and achievement in a liberal arts education, placing engagement across differences at the center of a challenging and vibrant learning experience. As Grinnell's chief diversity officer, Elena adjudicates and consults on efforts to find, retain, and advance individuals who will enrich our campus community, as outlined in the College's diversity policy. She also serves as the College's liaison for the campus partnership with two Posse Foundation sites, DC and Los Angeles. Her policy research interests focus on the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexual orientation in higher education. As a Grinnell alumna herself, Elena led the drive to create more multicultural space for student groups - a vision that became reality at the new Joe Rosenfield '25 Center- during her student years.

bernalem@grinnell.edu
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Marci Sortor serves as Vice President for Institutional Planning. In this capacity she works with campus constituents on budget planning, campus and facilities planning, and the implementation of the strategic plan. The directors of Community Enhancement, Facilities Management, and the Faulconer Gallery report to her. She works with the chairs of the Budget and Buildings and Grounds Committees of the Board of Trustees. She has been a member of the department of history at Grinnell College since 1989. In 2002, she joined the office of the Vice President of Academic Affairs as an associate dean. She continues to serve as associate dean in helping to implement the Expanding Knowledge Initiative of the Strategic Plan. She occasionally teaches history courses and continues her scholarly research on immigration, the market economy, and social networks in late medieval cities.

Email: Sortor@grinnell.edu
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Susan Schoen is the Secretary of the College and assistant to the President. Ms. Schoen has served several presidents and provides support to College's Board of Trustees in its various activities and serves as the College's legal representative. She is the primary organizer of the office, and, among other things, Ms. Schoen is responsible for maintaining the President's calendar, dealing with a number of people outside the institution who seek to raise an issue with the college, and ensuring that certain recurring college functions and events are staffed and scheduled appropriately.

Email: schoen@grinnell.edu
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Jean Cousins is the Administrative Support Assistant for the Office of the President, Marci Sortor, Vice-President for Institutional Planing. She also provides support for the Office of Diversity and Achievement. Ms. Cousins is a long-time college employee and community resident.