Avis E. Hinkson brings more than three decades of higher education experience in areas ranging from residential life to student recruitment to undergraduate advising. In addition to earning a doctor of education degree from the University of Pennsylvania, Hinkson holds a master’s degree in student personnel administration from Columbia University’s Teachers College and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Barnard.

A career spent guiding and nurturing students has taken Hinkson to roles as diverse as her first job as an admission counselor at Bowdoin College in Maine to her position as director of undergraduate advising for the University of California, Berkeley’s College of Letters and Sciences, where she oversaw services for more than 18,000 liberal arts students from 2004 to 2011. In 2011, Hinkson returned to Barnard, her alma mater, where she works with colleagues to shape the student experience and campus culture while sustaining direct involvement with many of Barnard’s 2,500 undergraduate women and serving as a key partner in Barnard’s unique connection with Columbia University.

Dean Hinkson joined Pomona in August of 2018. She oversees the Dean of Students office, governing: student affairs, campus life, residence halls, the dining program, Career Development Office, Smith Campus Center, programs like KSPC, Asian American Resource Center, Draper Center for Community Partnerships, Queer Resource Center, the Title IX coordinator and related support services, the Women’s Union, Outdoor Education Center and policy and non-academic compliance matters.

Born and raised in Brooklyn NY, Avis loves to read and travel. Of Caribbean heritage, she enjoys spicy food especially curries.