Transitions: Fordham U. Names New President; the Chancellor of the California State University System has Resigned

CHIEF EXECUTIVES
Appointments
Jill M. Baren, provost and vice president for academic affairs at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, has been named president of Lake Forest College. She will be the first woman to lead the college.

Hubert Benitez, vice president for strategic initiatives and academic innovation and acting chief inclusion officer at Rockhurst University, has been named president of American International College.

Chris Cox, former special assistant to the chancellor of the Alabama Community College System, has been named interim president of Shelton State Community College.

Jennifer Coyle, dean of the Southern California College of Optometry at Marshall B. Ketchum University, has been named president of Pacific University. She will succeed Lesley M. Hallick, who plans to retire.

Joseph Hopkins, dean of the School of Arts at Samford University, has been named president of Campbellsville University.

Eric Leshinskie, interim executive vice chancellor and provost of the Maricopa County Community College District, has been named president of Scottsdale Community College.

Cheryl Lesser, vice president for academic affairs at Luzerne County Community College, has been named president of Great Bay Community College.

Sonny Perdue, former governor of Georgia and former U.S. agriculture secretary, has been named the sole finalist to be chancellor of the University System of Georgia.

Patricia A. Pfeiffer, interim president of Wayne Community College, in North Carolina, has been named to the post permanently. She became interim president after Thomas A. Walker Jr. resigned, in July 2021.

Stacey M. Robertson, provost and vice president for academic affairs at the State University of New York College at Geneseo, has been named president of Widener University.

David Schecter, provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of South Carolina Upstate, has been named president of East Georgia State College.

Shane B. Smeed, interim president of Park University since November 2020, has been named to the post permanently.

Tania Tetlow, president of Loyola University New Orleans, has been named president of Fordham University. She was the first woman and first layperson to lead Loyola and will be the first woman and first layperson to lead Fordham.

Richard Trietley, interim president of Viterbo University since June 2021, has been named to the post permanently.

Resignations
Joseph I. Castro, chancellor of the California State University system since 2020, has resigned after controversy over his handling of sexual-harassment and bullying complaints against one of his vice presidents when Castro was president of Cal State-Fresno.

Anthony Monaco, president of Tufts University since 2011, plans to step down in the summer of 2023.

L. Rafael Reif, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 2012, plans to step down at the end of the year.

Retirements
William Behre, president of Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania since 2018, plans to retire in the summer of 2023.

Joseph Jones, president of Fresno Pacific University since 2017, plans to retire in the summer.

Melvin L. Oliver, president of Pitzer College since 2016, plans to retire this summer.

Stan Sidor, president of Lake-Sumter State College, plans to retire in June.

John Weispfenning, chancellor of the Coast Community College District since 2016, plans to retire in August.

CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICERS
Appointments
Michael Avaltroni, dean of the School of Pharmacy at Fairleigh Dickinson University, has been named provost and senior vice president for academic affairs.

Anthony Ponder, dean of the science, mathematics, and engineering division at Sinclair Community College, has been named provost.

Charles Riordan, vice president for research, scholarship, and innovation at the University of Delaware, has been named provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Hofstra University.

OTHER TOP ADMINISTRATORS
Appointments
Kevin Appleton, agency fiscal officer for District of Columbia Public Schools, in Washington, D.C., has been named chief financial officer of the College of Lake County.

Ivy K. Banks, associate vice provost for diversity and inclusion at the University of Arizona, has been named vice president for institutional diversity and inclusion at Xavier University, in Ohio.

Rebecca Ehrlichman Blume, assistant dean for mission advancement and engagement in the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington, has been named vice president for advancement at the University of Washington at Bothell.

Emelyn A. dela Peña, associate vice provost for inclusion, community, and integrative learning at Stanford University, has been named vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion at Loyola Marymount University.

Anne Gaillard, interim vice provost for academic affairs at Sam Houston State University since December 2020, has been named to the post permanently.

Christopher Howes, chief information officer at Morehead State University, has been named vice president and chief information officer of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System.

Tamra Minor, a former chief diversity officer and assistant vice president in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Albany, part of the State University of New York, has been named the inaugural vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion at Niagara University.

Reginald White, senior director of human resources for the division of research and innovation at Cornell University, has been named vice president for human resources at Connecticut College.

JoAnne P. Williams, interim vice president for finance and administration at Albertus Magnus College, has been named senior vice president for finance and administration at Fairfield University.

Arlitha Williams-Harmon, vice president for finance and administrative services at the Kern Community College District, has been named senior vice president for finance and administration at Jacksonville State University, in Alabama.

Richmond Wynn, interim vice president and chief diversity officer of the University of North Florida, has been named to the post permanently.

Resignations
Brooks Jackson, vice president for medical affairs and dean of the Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa, plans to step down.

Retirements
Carla Ho’a, vice chancellor and chief financial officer at the University of Colorado at Boulder, will retire in November.

DEANS
Appointments
The Rev. Edwin David Aponte, executive director of the Louisville Institute, will become dean of Drew University’s theological school on June 1.

Sam Beldona, a special adviser to the provost of the University of Scranton, has been named dean of the Leo J. Meehan School of Business at Stonehill College.

Kirill M. Bumin, assistant dean of the graduate school at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, has been named the inaugural dean of graduate studies at Stonehill College.

Martin Camacho, interim provost of Midwestern State University, has been named dean of the J.T. and Margaret Talkington College of Visual and Performing Arts at Texas Tech University.

Anne-Marie Deitering, interim university librarian at Oregon State University, has been named dean of libraries.

Heather Dillaway, associate dean in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Wayne State University, in Michigan, will become dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Illinois State University on July 16.

Jon Gould, a professor and director of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University, has been named dean of the School of Social Ecology at the University of California at Irvine.

Gareth James, deputy dean and professor of data sciences and operations in the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, has been named dean of the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

R.J. Nemer, founder of ICON Sports Management and chief marketing officer at MAI Capital Management, in Cleveland, has been named dean of the College of Business at the University of Akron.

Kelechi (K.C.) Ogbonna, associate dean of admissions and student services in the School of Pharmacy at Virginia Commonwealth University, has been named interim dean of the school.

Kevin Pitts, chief research officer at Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory and a professor of physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been named dean of the Virginia Tech College of Science.

Margaret Rose Vendryes, director of the Fine Arts Gallery at York College of the City University of New York, will become dean of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University in June.

Resignations
Mike Smith, dean of the School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, plans to step down at the end of the year.

OTHER ADMINISTRATORS
Appointments
Antonio Banks, statewide charter director of the African American Male Education and Development Network, in Los Angeles, has been named director of Black and males of color success at Compton College.

Kimberly Davidson, ombudsperson at Oberlin College, has been named university ombudsperson at George Mason University.

Joseph Friedberg, a professor of surgery in the School of Medicine at the University of Maryland and thoracic surgeon in chief at the University of Maryland Medical System, has been named thoracic surgeon in chief of Temple University Health System, vice chair of surgical services in the department of thoracic medicine and surgery, and professor of thoracic medicine and surgery at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.

Marcelle Haddix, a professor of literacy, race, and justice in reading and language arts at Syracuse University, has been named associate provost for strategic initiatives.

DeAnna Leitzke, director of the Community-Focused Real-World Engagement in Academics Through Experiential-Learning Institute at Milwaukee School of Engineering, has been named associate vice president of academic excellence.

Patti McSteen, interim senior associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Ohio University, has been named senior associate vice president and deputy of global campus safety at New York University.

Aníbal Pérez-Liñán, a professor of political science and global affairs at the University of Notre Dame, will become director of the Kellogg Institute for International Studies in the Keough School of Global Affairs on July 1.

Tomicka Wagstaff, assistant vice president for student access and success at the Rochester Institute of Technology, has been named vice provost for diversity, equity, and inclusion at the College of the Holy Cross.

ORGANIZATIONS
Appointments
Susan M. Collins, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, has been named president of the Boston Federal Reserve.

Lindsey Interlante, executive director of the Colonial Academic Alliance, has been named executive director of the Five Colleges of Ohio, a consortium of the College of Wooster, Denison University, Kenyon College, Oberlin College, and Ohio Wesleyan University.

DEATHS
Joe Blake, the first chancellor of the Colorado State University system, died of cancer on February 14. He was 86.

Walter Dellinger, a professor emeritus of law at Duke University, died on February 16. He was 80.

Paul D. Feldman, a retired professor of physics and astronomy at the Johns Hopkins University, died of heart disease on January 26. He was 82.

Jean Sullivan McKeigue, director of community affairs at Boston College from 1988 to 2003, died on February 4. She was 75.

Arthur J. Rothkopf, president emeritus of Lafayette College, died on February 9. He was 86.

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