Transitions: Columbia U. Names Next President; U. of South Florida Selects New Provost

CHIEF EXECUTIVES
Appointments
Andrés Acebo, executive vice president and university counsel at New Jersey City University, has been named interim president. He replaces Jason Kroll, who has served as acting president since June 2022.

Jay M. Bernhardt, dean of the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin and founding director of its Center for Health Communication, has been named president of Emerson College, in Massachusetts.

Bonita Brown, vice president and chief strategy officer at Northern Kentucky University, has been named interim president of the university.

Ellen Granberg, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at the Rochester Institute of Technology, has been named president of George Washington University.

Corey A. King, vice chancellor for inclusivity and student affairs at the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay, has been named chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater.

Georj Lewis, president of Atlanta Metropolitan State College, has been named president of Clayton State University.

JuliAnn Mazachek, president of Midwestern State University, in Texas, has been named the next president of Washburn University, in Kansas. Keith Lamb, MSU’s vice president for enrollment management and student affairs and chief strategy officer, has been named interim president.

Peter Mohler, vice president for research at Ohio State University, has been named interim executive vice president for research, innovation, and knowledge. He replaces Grace Wang, who will leave to become president of Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Karen K. Petersen, dean of the Kendall College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tulsa, has been named president of Hendrix College, in Arkansas.

Ritu Raju, vice president for academic affairs at the Northeast Campus of Tarrant County College, has been named president of Gateway Technical College.

Minouche (Nemat) Shafik, president and vice chancellor of the London School of Economics, has been named president of Columbia University. She will succeed Lee C. Bollinger, who will step down at the end of this academic year.

Ingrid Thompson-Sellers, president of South Georgia State College, has been named president of Atlanta Metropolitan State College.

Matthew P. vandenBerg, president of Presbyterian College, in South Carolina, has been named president of Ohio Wesleyan University.

Catherine Wehlburg, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Athens State University, has been named interim president. She was named acting president after Philip Way’s resignation at the end of December 2022.

Kristina Whalen, vice president for academic services at Las Positas College and vice president of the California Community Colleges Chief Instructional Officers Association, has been named president of Foothill College.

Resignations
Don Green, president of Point Park University since July 2021, plans to resign.

Retirements
Stephen C. Head, chancellor of Lone Star College, plans to retire on August 1.

Marsha Kelliher, president of Simpson College, in Iowa, plans to retire. She became the first woman to serve as president of the college, in March 2020.

Richard M. Rhodes, chancellor of the Austin Community College District, in Texas, plans to retire in August.

Steve Thomas, president of Midland College since 2008, plans to retire in August.

CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICERS
Appointments
Steven J. Berberich, interim vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost at the University of Missouri at St. Louis since September 2021, has been named to the post permanently.

Diane Z. Chase, vice president for academic innovation, student success, and strategic initiatives at Claremont Graduate University, in California, has been named senior vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Houston system and senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at its main campus.

Kristen Jones, provost at Bellevue College, in Washington, has been named vice president for education and chief academic officer at College of Lake County, in Illinois.

Catherine Gunther Kodat, provost and dean of faculty at Lawrence University, has been named provost and dean of faculty at Marist College.

Gary Liguori, dean of the University of Rhode Island’s College of Health Sciences, has been named provost and senior vice president at the University of West Florida.

Prasant Mohapatra, vice chancellor for research at the University of California at Davis, has been named provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of South Florida.

Sandra Richtermeyer, dean of the Manning School of Business at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, has been named executive vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost at Rutgers University at Camden.

Shelley Tinkham, dean of the College of Graduate and Continuing Education at Westfield State University, in Massachusetts, has been named vice president for academic affairs at Lane Community College, in Oregon.

OTHER TOP ADMINISTRATORS
Appointments
Matthew Bethea, assistant vice president for development at the University of North Texas, has been named vice president for university advancement at Sam Houston State University.

Andrew Davidson, vice president for development at Dartmouth College, has been named senior vice president for university advancement at Boston College.

Susan M. Davis, senior associate vice president for student affairs at the University of Virginia, has been named vice president for student affairs at Northwestern University.

Theresa Mayer, former executive vice president for research and partnerships at Purdue University, has been named vice president for research at Carnegie Mellon University.

Gloria Noronha, senior diversity officer and Title IX coordinator at William James College, has been named vice president for equity, diversity, inclusion, and justice at Lesley University.

Wendy K. Parsons, vice president for advancement at Albright College, has been named vice president for advancement at Holy Family University, in Pennsylvania.

Jeffrey F. Rhoads, executive director of the Purdue Institute for National Security and a professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University, has been named vice president for research at the University of Notre Dame.

Jeffrey Rodus, chief of staff to Lorraine Grillo, who was first deputy mayor of New York City, has been named vice president for government affairs at the City University of New York.

Jennifer Umberger, associate vice president for marketing and communications and chief marketing and communications officer at Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania, has been named vice president for marketing and communications at Kettering University.

Lisa Van Riper, vice president for communications and information technology at Knox College, in Illinois, has been named vice president for marketing and communications at Goucher College, in Maryland.

Susannah Wesley-Ahlschwede, vice president for corporate communications at Akili, a prescription digital medicine company, has been named chief marketing officer at Florida State University.

DEANS
Appointments
Michael Bitter, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, has been named to the post permanently.

Michael Bradford, vice provost for faculty, staff, and student development at the University of Connecticut, has been named vice provost and dean of undergraduate education at the University of California at Davis.

Saulius Drukteinis, a professor and associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Dental Medicine at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, has been named dean of the school.

Babak Elahi, head of the department of liberal arts at Kettering University, has been named interim dean of the College of Sciences and Liberal Arts.

Carrie Ingoldsby, director of campus life and student involvement at Mercer University, has been named dean of students at Wesleyan College, in Georgia.

Thomas Keyser, dean of the College of Engineering, Technology, and Management at the Oregon Institute of Technology, has been named founding dean of the College of Engineering at Illinois State University.

Zachary Kramer, interim dean and professor of law at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, has been named dean of the Elon University School of Law.

Alma Littles, senior associate dean of medical education and academic affairs in the College of Medicine at Florida State University, has been named interim dean of the college.

Kate Mamiseishvili, interim dean of the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas, has been named to the post permanently.

Sabita Manian, a professor of international relations and security studies at the University of Lynchburg, in Virginia, has been named dean of its College of Arts and Sciences.

Kaustav Misra, associate dean of the School of Business at Central Connecticut State University, has been named dean of the School of Business at the State University of New York at Fredonia.

Katharine Shepherd, a professor of education and interim dean of the College of Education and Social Services at the University of Vermont, has been named dean of the college.

Frederick G. Slabach, president of Texas Wesleyan University, has been named dean of the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Burke Soffe, assistant dean of faculty development and curriculum in the College of Dental Medicine at Roseman University of Health Sciences, has been named founding dean of the School of Oral Health and Dental Medicine at Lyon College.

Scott Sorvaag, chair of undergraduate teacher education at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, has been named dean of the College of Education at Winona State University.

Resignations
Maryam Alavi, dean of the Ernest Scheller College of Business at the Georgia Institute of Technology, plans to step down on June 30.

OTHER ADMINISTRATORS
Appointments
Misha G. Cornelius, interim director of public relations in the Office of University Communications at Howard University, has been named to the post permanently.

Kevin Leslie, executive director of the Hampton Roads Biomedical Research Consortium — a state-sponsored partnership between Old Dominion University, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk State University, and Sentara Healthcare — has been named associate vice president for innovation and commercialization at Old Dominion University.

Jeanette Taylor, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and a professor of psychology at Florida State University, has been named vice provost for academic affairs at the University of Georgia.

Resignations
Laurie Santos, a professor of psychology and head of Silliman College at Yale University, will step down as head of the college.

ORGANIZATIONS
Appointments
Jonathan S. Fansmith, assistant vice president for government relations at the American Council on Education, has been named senior vice president for government relations following Terry Hartle’s retirement.

Sara Goldrick-Rab, founder of the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice at Temple University, has been named a senior fellow at Education Northwest.

Diane Shust, chief of staff in the office of Rep. Tom Suozzi, a New York Democrat, has been named vice president for public policy at the Council for Opportunity in Education.

DEATHS
Randy Craig, a professor of biology and chair of the department of natural sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Mobile, died on December 10.

Frank Galati, a professor emeritus in the department of performance studies in the School of Communication at Northwestern University, died on January 2. He was 79.

Fannie Gaston-Johansson, the first Black woman to become a tenured professor at the Johns Hopkins University, died on January 7. She was 84. Gaston-Johansson arrived at the university as an associate professor of nursing in 1993 and retired as a professor emerita in 2014.

Doug Heidenreich, a professor at William Mitchell College of Law and Mitchell Hamline School of Law for more than 60 years, died on January 4. He was 90.

Ronald R. Ingle, a former president of Coastal Carolina University, died on January 18. He served as president from 1993 to 2007.

Betty Lee Sung, founder of the Asian American studies department and former chair of the Asian studies department at the City College of New York, died on January 19. She was 98.

Submit items for Gazette to people@chronicle.com.