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News

Appointments, Resignations, Deaths (2/24/2017)

February 19, 2017

Alondra Nelson
Alondra Nelson

Chief executives

Appointments

Rich Cummins, who has served as president of Columbia Basin College for nine years, was appointed chancellor of Western Governors University Washington. He will start on April 10. Mr. Cummins will succeed Jean Floten, who retired last month.

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Alondra Nelson
Alondra Nelson

Chief executives

Appointments

Rich Cummins, who has served as president of Columbia Basin College for nine years, was appointed chancellor of Western Governors University Washington. He will start on April 10. Mr. Cummins will succeed Jean Floten, who retired last month.

Harry Dumay, senior vice president and chief financial officer at Saint Anselm College, in New Hampshire, was appointed president of the College of Our Lady of the Elms, in Massachusetts. He will start on July 1, succeeding Mary Reap, who will retire after being at the helm for eight years.

Vivia Lawton Fowler, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Wesleyan College, in Georgia, was appointed the college’s president. She will succeed Ruth Knox, who is retiring on July 1.

Michael Frandsen was named president of Wittenberg University. Mr. Frandsen is vice president for finance and administration at Oberlin College and previously served as interim president at Albion College. He will take office on July 1. The previous president, Laurie Joyner, resigned in 2015.

Margaret Hamilton, vice president for academic affairs, institutional effectiveness, and planning at Camden County College, in New Jersey, was named president of Lane Community College, in Oregon. Ms. Hamilton will assume the post in July and will succeed Mary Spilde, who is retiring after 16 years at the helm.

Laura Hine, vice president for advancement at Memphis College of Art, will take over as interim president in March after the current president, Ron Jones, retires.

Marvin Krislov, president of Oberlin College for the past 10 years, will become president of Pace University in August. Last year Mr. Krislov made headlines when he refused to negotiate with black students on a list of demands they made.

Trevor Kubatzke, vice president for student services at Milwaukee Area Technical College, will serve as president of Lake Michigan College starting in April. The college had one short-term president last year, following the retirement of president emeritus Robert Harrison in 2015.

Devinder Malhotra was named interim chancellor of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities after the Board of Trustees was unable to decide on a permanent appointment. Mr. Malhotra retired as interim president of Metropolitan State University in 2016 and previously served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at St. Cloud State University.

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Glenn Poshard was named president of Morthland College, in Illinois. Mr. Poshard was previously president of the Southern Illinois University system, from which he stepped down in 2014. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat from Illinois, from 1988 to 1999.

Susan Thomas was appointed president of Truman State University. She has served as its interim president since July of last year, after Troy Paino stepped down to lead the University of Mary Washington. Ms. Thomas was previously Truman’s executive vice president for academic affairs and provost.

Resignations

Leo Lambert, who has served as president of Elon University for the past 18 years, plans to step down after a successor has been appointed.

Retirements

Ron Jones, president of Memphis College of Art, will retire at the end of February.

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Jonathan Lash, president of Hampshire College, plans to retire in June next year.

Chief academic officers

Appointments

Eric Baumgartner, a former NASA engineer, was appointed vice president for academics at Milwaukee School of Engineering. Mr. Baumgartner is dean of the T.J. Smull College of Engineering at Ohio Northern University and was previously a senior member of the engineering staff at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. He will start his new position in July.

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Mary Boyd, former vice president for academic affairs at St. Edward’s University, to provost at Berry College.

Agnes Caldwell, vice president and dean of academic affairs at Adrian College, to vice president for academic affairs and academic dean at Defiance College.

Marc Conner, interim provost, to provost at Washington and Lee University.

Carla Walter, vice president for administrative services at Chabot College, to provost at Presidio Graduate School.

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John Wilkin, dean of libraries and university librarian, to interim vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost designate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Resignations

Chris Gilmer, vice president for academic affairs at Adams State University.

Other top administrators

Appointments

Jason Amore, associate vice president for advancement for arts, sciences, engineering, and regional programming at the University of Rochester, to vice president for university relations at Alfred University.

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Jeff Atwater, chief financial officer for the State of Florida, will become vice president for strategic initiatives and chief financial officer at Florida Atlantic University at the close of the 2017 legislative session, which ends in May.

Dan Barbee, interim chief executive, to chief executive of the University of Toledo Medical Center.

Jonathan Curtright, chief operating officer, to an additional role, interim chief executive of University of Missouri Health Care.

Anne Derieux, director of advancement for the French American School of the Puget Sound, will be vice president for institutional advancement at Cornish College of the Arts. Ms. Derieux previously served as executive director of the Evergreen City Ballet and Spectrum Dance Theater and was a principal dancer at Pacific Northwest Ballet.

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Steve Ertel, vice president for strategic communications at the World Wildlife Fund, to vice chancellor for communications at Vanderbilt University.

Tara Evans, interim general counsel, to chief legal counsel at the University of Wyoming.

Constance French, senior vice president at Grenzebach Glier and Associates, to vice president for principal gifts at Oregon State University Foundation.

Michael Harders, vice president for university advancement and development at Kennesaw State University, to vice president for advancement at the University of Toledo.

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Mark Heil, vice president and corporate controller at Micron Technology, to vice president and chief financial officer at Boise State University.

Sean Huddleston, chief officer of diversity, inclusion, and community engagement at Framingham State University, to vice president for equity and inclusion at the University of Indianapolis.

Michele Marra, assistant vice president for finance, to vice president for administration and finance and chief financial officer at Marietta College.

Dawn Mellion-Patin, agricultural specialist and associate specialist in agriculture, to vice chancellor for extension and outreach at Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center.

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Debra Lee Polley, comptroller and associate vice president for finance, to vice president for finance and administration at the College of Saint Rose.

Aileen Shinaman, senior counsel, to associate vice president and general counsel at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

Deans

Appointments

Beth Ann Dobie, a professor of art theory, to dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Alfred University.

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Renata Elad, interim dean, to dean of the Stafford School of Business at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

Janet Jokela, professor and head of the department of internal medicine, to acting regional dean of the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign.

Joanne Li, dean of the Raj Soin School of Business at Wright State University, to dean of the College of Business at Florida International University.

Ken Peterson, a professor of economics, to dean of the faculty at Furman University.

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Michael Hunter Schwartz, dean of the William H. Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, to dean of the McGeorge School of Law at the University of the Pacific.

Ann Wendle, assistant dean, director of drug and alcohol services, and co-director of veteran services at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, to dean of students at Shepherd University.

Douglas Wood, vice president for health affairs and dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine at the University of New England, will serve as chief academic officer and founding dean of the planned College of Osteopathic Medicine at California Health Sciences University.

Retirements

John Kinney, vice president and dean of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University, effective June 30.

Other administrators

Appointments

Chandra Are, a professor of surgical oncology and global health, to designated institutional official for the College of Medicine and associate dean of graduate medical education at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

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Jean Bertrand, assistant dean of academic affairs in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia, to associate dean of undergraduate studies in the College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Life Sciences at Clemson University.

Joseph R. Biden Jr., the former vice president of the United States, will lead the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement at the University of Pennsylvania and will also hold a joint professorship there in the Annenberg School for Communication and the School of Arts and Sciences. Mr. Biden will also serve as founding chair of the Biden Domestic Policy Institute at the University of Delaware.

Emily Burke, foundation officer, to director of the Early College High School program at the Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning at the University of Indianapolis.

Amy Chew, specialist in interlibrary loan borrowing and acquisitions at the University of Colorado at Boulder, to assistant professor and reference librarian at Valdosta State University.

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Hugh Daschbach, culinary concierge at Hotel Emma, to senior director of alumni relations at Trinity University.

Richard DiCarlo, a professor of medicine, to senior associate dean of faculty and institutional affairs for the School of Medicine at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-New Orleans.

Stephani Etheridge, an associate professor in the School of Film, Dance, and Theatre, to director of the Design and Arts Corps in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University at Tempe.

Trevor Foughty, campaign manager for Indiana’s Republican Senator Todd Young, was appointed director of government relations and communications for Indiana University.

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Dawn Gerrain, senior vice president and general manager at Cengage Learning, to chief marketing and business development officer at Excelsior College.

Carolyn Giordano, assistant provost for institutional research at Thomas Jefferson University, to associate provost for institutional effectiveness at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.

Mark Henderson, chief of the Brighton Police Department, in New York, to director of the department of transportation and parking management at the University of Rochester.

Melvin Herring, an assistant professor of social work, to director of the master’s program in social work at Johnson C. Smith University.

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Peter Hollmann, chief medical officer at the group practice University Medicine, to director of the Executive Master of Healthcare Leadership program in the School of Professional Studies at Brown University.

Phil Larson, senior manager at SpaceX, to assistant dean of communications, strategy, and planning in the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Julia Maddox, change-management lead at Puget Sound Energy, to director of the Barbara J. Burger iZone in the River Campus Libraries at the University of Rochester.

John McGrath, development officer at the University of Oregon, to director of development for the College of Business at Oregon State University Foundation.

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Adrienne Morgan, an assistant professor in the department of medical humanities and bioethics, to assistant dean of medical education diversity and inclusion at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

Jennifer Pizio, dean of students at Mercy College, to associate director of diversity and inclusion at the University of Toledo.

Elizabeth Pline, lead project director of the integration of the Carilion School of Medicine into Virginia Tech, was appointed the institution’s senior director of administration and integration.

Mark Reitan, major gift officer at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, to director of alumni relations at Winona State University.

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Christine Rovet, senior director of administration and guest relations at Genesee Country Village & Museum, to executive director of event and classroom management at the University of Rochester.

Jon Rubin, an associate professor of art, to director of the master’s-degree program in the School of Art at Carnegie Mellon University.

Melanie Schramm, director of marketing and sales and corporate outreach at Purdue University at West Lafayette, to director of marketing at Virginia Tech.

Cynthia Sides, associate director of entrepreneurship and innovation, to director of industry engagement at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

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Michele Soliz, executive director of academic support services, to assistant vice president for student success and inclusion at the University of Toledo.

Frederick Spiegel, a professor of biological sciences, to director of undergraduate research at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

Tara Sullivan, assistant dean of students at Northwestern University, to executive director of academic success and transition at Purdue University-Northwest.

Patrice Walker, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, to assistant dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion for the Macon and Columbus campuses at Mercer University.

Resignations

Joe Tumpkin, assistant football coach at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Department chairs

Appointments

Keisha Callins, assistant medical director at Albany Area Primary Health Care, in Georgia, to assistant professor and chair of the department of community medicine at Mercer University.

Faculty

Appointments

Chelsea Burns, preceptor of music at Harvard University, to a faculty member in the music-theory department at the University of Rochester Eastman School of Music.

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Mara Culp, a visiting assistant professor of music education at Ithaca College, to a faculty member in the department of music teaching and learning at the University of Rochester Eastman School of Music.

Alyssa Felver, a former critical-care registered nurse at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, to an assistant professor of practical nursing at Berkshire Community College.

Alexander Fiterstein, founder of the Zimro Project, an ensemble that incorporates Jewish art music in chamber-music programs, to clarinet faculty member at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University.

Orit Hilewicz, a candidate for a doctorate in music theory at Columbia University, to a faculty member in the music-theory department at the University of Rochester Eastman School of Music.

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Meryl Mims, postdoctoral research fellow at the U.S. Geological Survey, to an assistant professor of biological sciences at Virginia Tech.

Lori Moon, case manager and education specialist at Berkshire Medical Center, to an assistant professor of practical nursing at Berkshire Community College.

Nicholas Stovall, principal oboe in the National Symphony Orchestra, to a woodwind faculty member in the Peabody Conservatory at the Johns Hopkins University.

Karyn Sullivan, a physician assistant at Healey Medical Practice in Canton, N.Y., to clinical assistant professor of physician assistant studies at Clarkson University.

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Susan Whitehead, postdoctoral research associate at Cornell University, to assistant professor of biological sciences at Virginia Tech.

Retirements

Carol Swain, a professor of political science and law at Vanderbilt University, effective in August.

Organizations

Appointments

Andrew Benton, president of Pepperdine University, was elected to serve as vice chair of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities’ board for one year.

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Ronnie Green, chancellor of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, will lead the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities’ Commission on Food, Environment and Renewable Resources.

Marvin Lynn, dean of the School of Education at Indiana University at South Bend, to commissioner of the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation.

Alondra Nelson, dean of social science and a professor of sociology at Columbia University, will start a five-year term as the Social Science Research Council’s president beginning on September 1. She will succeed Ira Katznelson, who held the position since 2012.

Christopher Nelson, president of St. John’s College, in Annapolis, M.D., was elected to serve as chair of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities’ board.

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Penny Rue, vice president for campus life at Wake Forest University, to an additional role, chair elect of the board at NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education.

Raymond Russell III, an associate professor of medicine and director of the nuclear cardiology and cardio oncology programs in the Cardiovascular Institute of Lifespan at Brown University, to an additional role, president of the Board of Directors at the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology.

Catherine Salmon, a professor of psychology at the University of Redlands, to an additional role, editor of Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, a journal of the American Psychological Association.

Cheryl Schrader, chancellor of Missouri University of Science and Technology, to an additional role, a representative in the NCAA Division II Presidents Council.

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Julie Uranis, director of distance and innovative learning at Western Kentucky University, to vice president for online and strategic initiatives at the University Professional and Continuing Education Association.

Deaths

Roy Barnes, 86, an associate professor of education at the University of Toledo, died on February 6 in Toledo, Ohio.

Walter Brasch, 71, professor emeritus of mass communications and journalism at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, died on February 9 in Danville, Pa.

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Dana Furth Castle, 85, former professor of law at the University of Akron, died on January 8.

George Chin, 67, former director of student financial aid at the City University of New York, died from complications of cancer on February 5. He had worked with the university system as an advocate for financial-aid expansion for 28 years. He served as chair of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and led the New York State Financial Aid Administrators Association and the Eastern Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

Alexander Doberenz, 80, former dean of the College of Human Resources at the University of Delaware, died on February 8 in Wilmington, Del.

Timothy Edgar, 59, former associate professor of health communication at Emerson College, died on January 2.

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David Featherstone, 50, a professor of biology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, died on January 28.

Warren Gore, former professor of rhetoric at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, died on January 17.

Jeffrey Hadler, 48, associate professor of South and Southeast Asian studies at the University of California at Berkeley, died on January 11.

Carroll Izard, 93, professor emeritus of psychological and brain sciences at the University of Delaware, died on February 5 in Landenberg, Pa.

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Stan Jones, 67, founder and president of the nonprofit organization Complete College America, died on February 6 in Indianapolis. Mr. Jones served as a state legislator in Indiana and as Indiana’s commissioner for higher education, during which time he helped to develop the 21st Century Scholars program and the state’s community-college system. Complete College America, which he founded in 2009, is a network of 42 states committed to increasing the number of Americans who attain college degrees or career certificates and to helping underrepresented groups close the attainment gap.

Louise Kanter, 89, former professor of sociology at California State University at Sacramento, died on January 10 in Sacramento.

Thomas Kennedy, 79, former professor of history at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, died on January 26.

John MacArthur, 94, former professor of physics and astronomy at Marlboro College, died on January 4.

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Fred Harold Matthews, 96, former dean of vocational education and evening college at Jackson Community College, died on February 10.

Theodore Morgan, 64, a professor emeritus of printmaking at Alfred University, died on December 7 in Huron, Ohio.

William Albert Moses, 71, former dean of the School of Communication at Gallaudet University, died on February 10 in Washington, D.C.

Bharati Mukherjee, 76, a professor emerita of English at the University of California at Berkeley, died on January 28. Ms. Mukherjee, who retired in 2013, taught at the university for 24 years. She is a renowned author whose short-story collection, The Middleman and Other Stories, won the 1988 National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction.

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Richard Portman, 82, a professor emeritus in the College of Motion Picture Arts at Florida State University, died on January 28. Mr. Portman won the Academy Award for Best Sound in 1978 for his work on The Deer Hunter and was nominated 11 times for an Academy Award for his sound work on films such as The Godfather and Young Frankenstein.

Ralph Raimi, 92, a professor emeritus of mathematics at the University of Rochester, died on January 2.

Tom Roop, former professor of biology at Francis Marion University, died on January 14.

Arthur Rosenfeld, 90, professor emeritus of physics at the University of California at Berkeley, died on January 27 in Berkeley, Calif.

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Ronald Schultz, 70, director of graduate studies and a professor of history at the University of Wyoming, died on February 6.

LaVerne Charmayne Byrd Smith, 89, former assistant professor of education at Virginia State University, died on January 27.

Raymond Smullyan, 97, a former professor of mathematics at Lehman College and a professor emeritus of philosophy at Indiana University at Bloomington, died on February 5 in Hudson, N.Y. Mr. Smullyan was widely known for the logic puzzles he often created.

Norman Snow, 72, former professor of surgery at the University of Illinois at Chicago, died on February 9.

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Roger Staehle, 82, former dean of the Institute of Technology (now the College of Science and Engineering) at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, died on January 16.

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A version of this article appeared in the February 24, 2017, issue.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
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