Chief executives
Appointments
Christopher Fiorentino was named president of West Chester University of Pennsylvania. He has served as interim president since April and was previously vice president for external operations.
Elizabeth Howe Bradley was named president of Vassar College, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Ms. Bradley is head of Branford College and founder and director of the Yale Global Health Leadership Institute at Yale University. She will start at Vassar in July and will succeed Catherine Hill, who stepped down last August after 10 years at the helm.
Thomas LeBlanc, executive vice president and provost at the University of Miami, was named president of George Washington University. He will start his new position in August.
Ali Rafieymehr, vice president for academic affairs at River Valley Community College, in New Hampshire, will serve as its interim president. He takes over from Alicia Harvey Smith, who resigned in August to become executive vice chancellor at Lone Star Community College, in Houston.
Chris Vitelli, vice president for student services at Merced College, in California, was appointed its superintendent and president.
Resignations
Rev. James Fleming, president of Wheeling Jesuit University, has resigned.
Retirements
Patricia Maguire Meservey, president of Salem State University, has announced that she will retire after a successor has been named. She has led the institution for 10 years.
Chief academic officers
Appointments
Edward Feser, interim vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, to provost and executive vice president at Oregon State University.
Sandra Peart, dean of the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, to interim provost at the University of Richmond.
Kristin Sobolik, dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Wright State University, to provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Missouri at St. Louis.
Resignations
Graham Glynn, provost at Fort Hays State University, effective June 30.
Other top administrators
Appointments
David Bailey, associate vice president for strategic planning, to vice president for strategic planning and institutional research at the University of Notre Dame.
Harry Elam, vice provost for undergraduate education at Stanford University since 2010, was appointed to two additional roles, vice president for the arts, a new position at the university, and senior vice provost for education.
William J. Green, executive director of clinical support and major gifts at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, to vice president for development at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences.
Doug Marsh, university architect, to vice president for facilities design and operations at the University of Notre Dame.
Sherri Mylott, vice president for university advancement at Mary Baldwin University, to vice president for university advancement at the University of La Verne.
Amir Rahnamay-Azar will start as senior vice president and chief financial officer at Syracuse University on February 15, pending board approval. He was previously chief financial officer at Carnegie Mellon University.
Clayton Somers, chief of staff to the North Carolina speaker of the House, to vice chancellor for public affairs and secretary at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a newly created post.
Jennifer Williams, executive director of institutional planning and assessment, to vice president for institutional effectiveness at Rocky Vista University.
Resignations
Joy Hatch, vice president for technology at Fort Hays State University.
Kimberly Walker, chief investment officer for the Washington University Investment Management Company.
Retirements
Dan Bryant has retired as vice president for administration and finance at Marietta College. He served in that position for 15 years.
Deans
Appointments
Anne Dichele, director of the master-of-arts-in-teaching program, to interim dean of the School of Education at Quinnipiac University.
Sheldon Fields, dean of the Mervyn M. Dymally School of Nursing at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, to dean of the School of Health Professions at the New York Institute of Technology.
James Gladden, dean of the School of Physical Education and Tourism Management, to associate vice chancellor for undergraduate education and dean of University College at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis.
Paul Greenwood, professor of biology at Colby College, to dean of the College of Natural and Health Sciences at the University of Tampa.
David Gudelunas, professor of communication at Fairfield University, to dean of the College of Arts and Letters at the University of Tampa.
Valerie Kinloch, associate dean of diversity, inclusion, and community engagement in the College of Education and Human Ecology and a professor of literacy studies at Ohio State University, to dean of the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh.
Hari Osofsky was named dean of Penn State Law and the School of International Affairs at Pennsylvania State University at University Park, pending board approval. Ms. Osofsky is a professor of law and director of the Energy Transition Lab and a joint-degree program in law, science, and technology at the University of Minnesota Law School
Scott Thumma, director of the doctor-of-ministry program and a professor of sociology, to interim academic dean at Hartford Seminary.
Mary Toale, a professor and chair of communication studies, to interim dean of graduate studies at the State University of New York College at Oswego.
Vernon Hurte, assistant to the vice president, senior associate dean of students, and director of the Center for Student Diversity at the College of William & Mary, to associate vice president and dean of students at Iowa State University.
Other administrators
Appointments
Kari Alldredge, associate provost for enrollment management, to vice provost for enrollment management at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
Sandi Bliss, senior development officer for central initiatives and scholarships at the University of Miami, to chief advancement officer for Corps of Cadets at Virginia Tech.
Ela Bochenek, vice president for global compliance at Insmed Incorporated, to assistant dean of graduate and professional education in the School of Law at Seton Hall University.
Yaritza Castro, school counselor at Glencliff High School, in Nashville, to TRIO director at Columbia State Community College.
Karen Levin Coburn, senior consultant in residence, to interim associate vice chancellor at Washington University in St. Louis.
A. Rima Dael, executive director of the Country Dance & Song Society, to executive director of institutional advancement and foundation at Springfield Technical Community College.
Kristin Failor, state policy director at the National Federation of Independent Business, to state-relations officer at Iowa State University.
Rachel Laribee Gresk, a doctoral student in higher-education administration at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and previous head of the American University of Iraq-Sulaimani’s Academic Preparatory Program, to director of academic administration and accreditation at Sulaimani.
David Hickton, former U.S. attorney for the western district of Pennsylvania, to founding director of the Institute for Cyber Law, Policy and Security at the University of Pittsburgh.
Laura Hungerford, professor and vice chair of academic programs in the department of epidemiology and public health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, to professor and head of the department of population health sciences at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech.
Randy Juhl, a retired University of Pittsburgh vice chancellor and dean emeritus of pharmacy, will return to the university to serve as its acting athletics director.
Kenneth Knox, professor of medicine and chief of the division of pulmonary, allergy, critical care and sleep medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine at Tucson, to associate dean of faculty affairs in the University of Arizona College of Medicine at Phoenix.
Scott Koerwer, vice president for strategy, planning, and communication, to an additional role, vice dean for graduate studies in the School of Graduate Studies at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine.
Lectra Lawhorne, interim chief information officer, to chief information officer at Kennesaw State University.
Clare McCabe, a professor of chemical engineering, to associate dean of the Graduate School and director of postdoctoral affairs at Vanderbilt University.
Jeff Milsteen, chief deputy attorney general for the State of Georgia, to chief legal affairs officer at Kennesaw State University.
Eileen O’Shea, associate professor of nursing, to an additional role, director of the Kanarek Center for Palliative & Supportive Nursing Education at Fairfield University.
Kittie DeLuca Pain, associate director of admissions at Neumann University, to director of graduate enrollment management at McDaniel College.
Chris Peacock, deputy director of athletics, to interim athletics director at Washington University in St. Louis.
Julie Peterson, interim chief business officer, to chief business officer at Kennesaw State University.
Megan Pierson, senior associate provost and senior university counsel, to chief of staff to the president at Stanford University.
John Riggs, assistant professor of marketing at Nova Southeastern University, to executive director of the Centurion Sales Program in the School of Business Administration at Stetson University.
Denise Stephens, university librarian at the University of California at Santa Barbara, to vice provost and university librarian at Washington University in St. Louis.
Ryan Streeter, executive director of the Center for Politics and Governance at the University of Texas at Austin, to director of domestic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research.
Octavio Villalpando, vice president for equity and diversity at the University of Utah, to vice provost for diversity and engaged learning and chief diversity officer for academic and student life at California State University at Los Angeles.
Resignations
Mia Karvonides, the Title IX officer at Harvard University, will leave on January 17 to serve as an enforcement director of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
Retirements
Justin Carroll, associate vice chancellor for student affairs, dean of students, and interim athletics director at Washington University in St. Louis, effective February 1.
Faculty
Appointments
Michelle Olsen, assistant professor in the department of cell, developmental, and integrative biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, to associate professor of neuroscience at Virginia Tech.
Robin White, USDA/AFRI postdoctoral fellow, to assistant professor of animal and poultry sciences at Virginia Tech.
Organizations
Appointments
Kathleen Sprows Cummings, director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism and an associate professor of American studies and history at the University of Notre Dame, to an additional role, president of the American Catholic Historical Association.
Emily Dickens, vice president for public policy and executive director of the Center for Public Trusteeship and Governance at the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, to senior vice president, general counsel, and chief relationship officer at the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
Kristen Grainger, former director of communications for Oregon Governor Katherine Brown, to president of the Oregon Alliance of Independent Colleges and Universities.
Devorah Lieberman, president of the University of La Verne, will also serve as vice president of the executive committee of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities.
Jack Meek, professor of public administration at the University of La Verne, will take on an additional role as vice president of the executive council of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration.
Deaths
John Balint, 91, former chair of the department of medicine at Albany Medical College, died on December 16.
Sydney Blair, 67, an associate professor of English at the University of Virginia, died on December 12.
Leo Dangel, 75, a retired professor of English at Southwest Minnesota State University, died on December 13 in Yankton, S.D.
Hope Lewis, 54, professor of law at Northeastern University, died on December 6.
Hubert Marshall, 96, professor emeritus of political science at Stanford University, died on December 7 in Mill Valley, Calif.
Donald McVinney, 66, former professor of social work at Columbia University, died on December 20.
Daniel Thomas Regan, 80, former professor at Villanova University, died on December 17 in Wayne, Penn.
Arthur Roberts, 93, former professor of philosophy and religion at George Fox University, died on December 15.
Vera Rubin, 88, former professor of geosciences at Princeton University, died on December 25.
Thomas Schelling, 95, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Maryland at College Park, died on December 13.
Joseph Senne Jr., professor emeritus and former chair of the civil engineering department at Missouri University of Science and Technology, died on December 20.
Richard Short, 83, professor and former head of the English department at Erie Community College City Campus, died on December 10.
Bernard Taper, 98, professor emeritus of journalism at the University of California at Berkeley, died on October 17.
Edward Whetmore, 70, professor of communications at California State University-Dominguez Hills, died on December 9 in Placerville, Calif.
