Hima Vatti to Lead Caltech's Equity Office

To: The Campus Community
From: Joseph E. Shepherd, Vice President for Student Affairs, and Julia McCallin, Associate Vice President for Human Resources
Date: July 15, 2019
Re: Hima Vatti to Lead Caltech's Equity Office

We are pleased to announce that, effective today, Hima Vatti has taken on a new role as the assistant vice president for equity and equity investigations, and Title IX coordinator.

Hima takes on this role following the departure of April Castañeda, who has left the Institute to become the director of human resources at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. April was charged with expanding the office's scope and staff to focus on all forms of unlawful harassment, sexual misconduct, and discrimination.

As the assistant vice president for equity, equity investigations, and Title IX coordinator, Hima will lead the Equity Office team, which includes the administrator, lead investigator, and deputy Title IX coordinator for students. Other deputy Title IX coordinators on campus and at JPL will coordinate with the office. Together, this team is responsible for promoting fair and impartial treatment and processes that support a community of inclusion, learning, professionalism, safety, care, and respect.

Hima has been an associate general counsel at Caltech since 2009, and has a history of working collaboratively across the Institute and of being a thoughtful and inclusive colleague. As an associate general counsel, Hima counseled numerous campus and JPL teams and organizations to resolve equity, academic, and student issues, improve the fairness of policies and processes, and facilitate international scientific collaborations.

Before joining Caltech, Hima held several educational and public service positions, including at Cornell University and the U.S. Department of Justice, and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo, West Africa. She holds a bachelor's degree from Stanford University and a law degree from Harvard Law School.