Transitions: New Chancellor Named at the U. of California at Merced; Providence College Selects Provost

Chief executives

Appointments

Brian Cole, interim chancellor of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts since August 2019, has been named to the post permanently. He succeeds Lindsay Bierman, who left to become chief executive of UNC-TV Public Media North Carolina.

Scott E. Feller, dean of the college and a professor of chemistry at Wabash College, has been named president. He will succeed Gregory D. Hess, who plans to step down.

Cheryl Green, vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, will become president of Governors State University on July 1. She will succeed Elaine Maimon, who is retiring.

Natalie Harder, chancellor of South Louisiana Community College, has been named president of Coker University, in South Carolina.

Susan Henking, interim vice president for academic and student affairs and dean of the college at Salem College, will become interim president when Sandra Doran steps down at the end of the 2020 academic year.

Austin A. Lane, a former president of Texas Southern University, has been named chancellor of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

Paula Langteau, interim president of Presentation College, in South Dakota, has been named to the post permanently. She became interim president in October 2019.

Teik Lim, provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of Texas at Arlington, has been named interim president. He has been serving as administrator in charge since Vistasp Karbhari’s resignation, in March.

Edwin Litolff, vice president and chief financial officer at the University of Louisiana system, has been named interim president of the University of Louisiana at Monroe. He will replace Nick Bruno, who plans to retire on June 30.

P. Wesley Lundburg, executive dean of the Ammerman Campus at Suffolk County Community College, has been named president of San Diego Miramar College. He replaces Marsha Gable, who has served as interim president since November 2019.

Juan Sánchez Muñoz, president of the University of Houston-Downtown, has been named chancellor of the University of California at Merced. He will replace Nathan Brostrom, who has served as interim chancellor since August 2019.

Lori Rice-Spearman, interim president of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, has been named sole finalist for the permanent presidency.

Jonathan Spiro, dean of humanities and social sciences at Castleton University, in Vermont, has been named interim president. He replaces Karen Scolforo, who resigned.

Sophie Zdatny, general counsel at the Vermont State Colleges system, has been named interim chancellor after Jeb Spaulding’s resignation.

Resignations

MaryAnn Baenninger, president of Drew University since 2014, will step down in July.

Retirements

John R. Broderick, president of Old Dominion University since 2009, plans to retire in the summer of 2021. He is the university’s longest-serving president.

David M. Dooley, president of the University of Rhode Island since 2009, plans to retire in June 2021.

Geraldine Jones, president of California University of Pennsylvania since April 2016, plans to retire on January 29, 2021. She has served in several roles at the university for 46 years.

Chief academic officers

Appointments

Erik Ankerberg, associate vice president for academics and a professor of English at Concordia University Chicago, has been named provost.

Elizabeth Chilton, dean of the Harpur College of Arts and Sciences at Binghamton University, will become provost and executive vice president at Washington State University on August 1.

Christina A. Clark, dean of the School of Design, Arts, and Humanities at Marymount University, will become provost at Maywood University on July 1.

Jim Coleman, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, will become provost and executive vice chancellor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro on August 1.

James T. Dalton, dean of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, will become executive vice president and provost at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa on August 1.

Robert Fleischman, vice president for strategic business, education, and regional partnerships at Minnesota State University at Mankato, will become provost and vice president for academic affairs at Ferris State University on July 19.

Robert Kersting, a professor and director for the master’s program in social work at Westfield State University, has been named interim provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Marie Mora, associate provost for academic affairs at the University of Missouri of Missouri at St. Louis, has been named provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs.

Michael Palladino, vice provost for graduate studies and a professor of biology at Monmouth University, has been named vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty at Bloomfield College.

Sean F. Reid, dean of the School of Business at Ithaca College, will become senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at Providence College on July 1.

Other top administrators

Appointments

Al Bloom, founding vice chancellor of New York University at Abu Dhabi and former president of Swarthmore College, has been named executive vice chancellor of Duke Kunshan University, in China.

Karen Bowling, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the University of North Florida, has been named its first vice president for jobs.

Beth Clarke, senior executive director of admissions strategy and counseling at Sweet Briar College, will become vice president for enrollment at Millsaps College on July 6.

Deborah Crawford, vice president for research, innovation, and economic impact at George Mason University, will become vice chancellor for research at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville on August 1.

Frank Cuevas, interim vice chancellor for student life at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville since January, has been named to the role permanently.

Maura Donahue, associate dean of finance and administration in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Dayton, will become vice president for finance and administration and treasurer at Ohio Wesleyan University on June 1.

Mj Huebner, interim vice president for enrollment management at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, will become vice president for admission and financial aid at Kalamazoo College on September 8.

Mark Milliron, co-founder of Civitas Learning and a former deputy director of postsecondary success at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has been named senior vice president and executive dean of the Teachers College at Western Governors University.

Milan Mrksich, interim vice president for research at Northwestern University since October 2019, has been named to the post permanently.

José Padilla, vice president, general counsel, and secretary at DePaul University, will become vice president, general counsel, and secretary to the Board of Regents at the University of Colorado on July 6.

Louis C. Pugliese, chief executive of UMUC Ventures at the University of Maryland Global Campus, has been named the campus’ executive vice president.

Mary Sabin, senior adviser to the governor of Ohio, has been named vice president for institutional advancement at Lourdes University.

Deans

Appointments

Paula S. Bontempi, deputy director of the earth-science division of the Science Mission Directorate of NASA, in Washington, has been named dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island.

Whitney Daugherty, assistant director of career services at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, has been named assistant provost and dean of students for student affairs at Vincennes University.

Troy Eggers, executive vice provost at Columbia University, will become interim dean of the School of Professional Studies there on July 1.

Sarah Feldner, acting dean of the Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University, has been named to the post permanently.

Mark Ferguson, a partner at Ferguson & Shamamian Architects LLP, in New York, will become dean of the School of Architecture and Planning at Catholic University of America on July 1.

Vijaya L. Gompa, a professor of mathematics and head of the department of mathematical, computing, and information sciences at Jacksonville State University, will become dean of the College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics at Johnson C. Smith University on June 1.

Shanna Hagan-Burke, a professor of special education and head of the department of educational psychology at Texas A&M University’s College of Education and Human Development, will become dean of the School of Education at Baylor University on July 1.

Tracy Hull, an associate dean of the Mary Couts Burnett Library at Texas Christian University, will become the library’s dean on July 1.

Nicole Thorne Jenkins, vice dean of the Gatton College of Business and Economics at the University of Kentucky, will become dean of the McIntire School of Commerce on July 1.

Mark Meyers, a professor of education and program director for educational administration at Xavier University in Cincinnati, will become dean of the School of Nursing, Education, and Human Studies at Robert Morris University on June 1.

Huanbiao Mo, a professor and interim dean of the Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions at Georgia State University, will become dean of the college in July.

Pedro Noguera, a professor of education at the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California at Los Angeles, will become dean of the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California on July 1.

Judy L. Postmus, a professor and associate dean of research and faculty development in the School of Social Work at Rutgers University, will become dean of the School of Social Work at the University of Maryland at Baltimore on July 1.

Karen Sedatole, a professor of accounting at Emory University, has been named interim dean of the university’s Goizueta Business School.

M. Cecil Smith, graduate-program coordinator and a professor in the department of learning sciences and human development in the College of Education and Human Services at West Virginia University, will become dean of the School of Education at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale on July 13.

A. Benjamin Spencer, a professor of law at the University of Virginia, will become dean of the Law School at College of William & Mary on July 1. He will be the first African American dean of any school at the college.

Barbara J. Stoll, dean of the McGovern Medical School at University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, plans to step down this summer.

Ian O. Williamson, pro vice-chancellor and dean of the Wellington School of Business and Government at Victoria University, in New Zealand, will become dean of the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California at Irvine on January 1.

Annice D. Yarber-Allen, interim dean of the College of Letters and Sciences at Columbus State University, in Georgia, since June 2019, has been named to the post permanently.

Sevin Yeltekin, a professor of economics and senior associate dean of education in the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University, will become dean of the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester on July 1.

Resignations

Gwyn Richards, dean of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, plans to step down on June 30, after almost 20 years in the role.

Jason Wingard, dean of the School of Professional Studies at Columbia University, plans to step down and return to the faculty.

Other administrators

Appointments

Naazneen H. Barma, a faculty member in the department of national-security affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School, will become an associate professor and director of the Doug and Mary Scrivner Institute for Public Policy in the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver on September 1.

Omar Khan, a professor and chair of the department of architecture at the University at Buffalo (SUNY), will become head of the School of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University on August 1.

Candice Storey Lee, interim vice chancellor for athletics and university affairs and athletic director at Vanderbilt University, has been named to the post permanently. She became interim director in February, after Malcolm Turner’s resignation.

Erin McDermott, director of athletics at the University of Chicago, will become director of athletics at Harvard University on July 1. She will be the first woman to head the program.

Cynthia Pickett, associate vice provost for faculty equity and inclusion at the University of California at Davis, will become associate provost for diversity, equity, and inclusion at DePaul University on July 1.

Virginia Roach, dean of the Graduate School of Education at Fordham University, has been named executive director of the Center for Talented Youth at the Johns Hopkins University.

Amy Heasley Williams, associate athletic director and senior woman administrator at Kenyon College, will become director of athletics and physical education at the College of Wooster on July 15.

Organizations

Appointments

Cynthia Jackson-Hammond, president of Central State University, in Ohio, will become president of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation on August 1.

Deaths

Donald W. Alford, a former professor and dean of the School of Education at East Texas Baptist University, died on May 17. He was 81.

Alan G. Merten, president emeritus of George Mason University, died on May 21. He was 78. Merten led the university from 1996 to 2012.

Cheves McCord Smythe, founding dean of the McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, died on May 11. He was 95.

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