The new University-wide post of senior vice provost for diversity and Faculty development, another recommendation of the task forces, has not yet been filled.

Many professors said they saw a similarity between the new post of diversity advisor and the now-defunct post of associate dean for affirmative action. The Crimson reported last December that the Standing Committee on the Status of Women recommended the restoration of the dean, but Kirby said then that he thought the job was best left to divisional deans.

Kirby said in an e-mail yesterday that Martin’s post “intersect” with the responsibilities of the old affirmative action dean.

“It will have broader responsibility too in helping to set strategic policies, not only on appointments, but also on matters of environment (e.g. tenure clock, child care),” wrote Kirby.

Colleagues praised Martin’s qualifications for the job.

“Lisa Martin is a very smart and direct person and I think that she’ll do an excellent job of defining the issues that FAS faces in recruiting women and minorities,” Skocpol said.

“She’s always been very sensible,” Simmons said. “She’s not extreme.”

Martin has long-standing ties to the women’s community at Harvard. In the past, she has served on both the Standing Committee on Women and the Government Department’s Committee on Sexual Harassment.

She has also served as a member of the Faculty Council, the 18-member governing body of FAS.

—Staff writer Natalie I. Sherman can be reached at nsherman@fas.harvard.edu.