Transitions: Jackson State U. Names New President

CHIEF EXECUTIVES
Appointments
Donald J. Green, interim president of Gordon State College, has been named to the post permanently.

William L. Johnson, a Republican U.S. representative for Ohio’s Sixth Congressional District, has been named president of Youngstown State University.

Jonathan P. Koh, dean of work force and economic development at Shelton State Community College, has been named president.

Lizette Navarette, executive vice chancellor for the Office of Institutional Supports and Success at the California Community Colleges, has been named president of Woodland Community College.

Marcus L. Thompson, deputy commissioner and chief administrative officer at the Institutions of Higher Learning for Mississippi, has been named president of Jackson State University.

Laura Travis, executive vice president for academic affairs and compliance at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Dickson, has been named president of the college.

Mark A. Welsh III, interim president of Texas A&M University at College Station, has been named the sole finalist for the permanent position.

Resignations
Robbyn Wacker, president of St. Cloud State University, will step down at the end of the academic year.

Leslie Ward, president of the Vermont College of Fine Arts, will step down next month.

Retirements
Connie Gallaher, president of Ohio Dominican University since June 2021, will retire in December.

Gregory Powell, president of Panola College, in Texas, plans to retire in August 2024.

CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICERS
Appointments
Mark Mossman, associate provost and associate vice president for undergraduate studies and strategic planning at Western Illinois University, has been named interim provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Janet Woodruff-Borden, interim provost and executive vice president at the University of Oregon, has been named senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Karla Zadnik, dean of the College of Optometry at Ohio State University, has been named interim executive vice president and provost.

OTHER TOP ADMINISTRATORS
Appointments
Gary L. Brown, vice chancellor for student affairs and interim vice chancellor for university advancement at Elizabeth City State University, has been named vice president for student success, well-being, and belonging at Hollins University.

Cornell Craig, chief diversity and inclusion officer at Hofstra University, has been named vice president for equity and inclusion.

Anne Gillespie, vice president for business and finance at Mount Mercy University, has been named vice president for finance and facilities at Minnesota State University at Mankato.

Brandon Gilliland, vice president and chief financial officer at the University of Miami, has been named senior vice president for finance and administration at Wake Forest University.

John A. Groulx, director of budget and fiscal planning at Wheaton College, in Massachusetts, has been named vice president for finance at Virginia Wesleyan University.

Heather Herrera, chief strategy and innovation officer and assistant dean of assessment and accreditation in the School of Leadership and Education Sciences at the University of San Diego, has been named vice president for strategy and innovation at San Francisco Bay University.

Sacha Joseph-Mathews, assistant dean of diversity, equity, inclusion, and community engagement at the University of the Pacific, in California, has been named vice president and chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer at California State University-Stanislaus.

Alicia Kalka, associate vice president for enrollment and student life at Fairmont State University, has been named interim vice president for student success.

Paul R. Kittle, senior associate vice president for student affairs at the University of Texas at Arlington, has been named vice chancellor for student affairs for the University of Houston system and vice president for student affairs at the University of Houston.

Alan Medders, interim vice president for advancement at Jacksonville State University since July, has been named vice president for philanthropy.

Markeisha Miner, senior associate dean of student services and dean of students at Cornell University Law School, has been named vice president for community, equity, and diversity at the University of Rhode Island.

Scott Snyder, dean of the College of Science and Engineering at Idaho State University, has been named vice president for research and economic development at the University of North Dakota.

Jill Stephens Walton has been named vice president for development and alumni relations at the University of Georgia and executive director of the University of Georgia Foundation after leading the development division on an interim basis.

Resignations
Daren Hubbard, vice president for information technology and chief information officer at the Georgia Institute of Technology, has been named vice president for information technology and chief information officer at Princeton University.

Sharon P. Pitt, vice president for information technologies and chief information officer at Brown University, has been named vice president for information technology and chief information officer at Virginia Tech.

DEANS
Appointments
Joyce Alexander, dean in residence at the American Educational Research Association, in Washington, D.C., and a former dean of the Texas A&M University College of Education and Human Development, has been named dean of the College of Education at the University of Alabama.

Rebecca Benard, associate dean and faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, has been named interim dean of undergraduate advising.

Jeremy Counseller, chair of evidence law at Baylor University, has been named dean of the Law School.

Timothy M. Diette, executive director and academic director of the Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty at Washington and Lee University, has been named dean of the faculty at Hampden-Sydney College.

Ian F. Dunn, a professor and chair of the department of neurosurgery in the College of Medicine at the University of Oklahoma, has been named executive dean of the college.

Kirk A. Foster, a professor and director of the School of Social Work at East Carolina University, has been named dean of the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Karl Knapp, interim associate dean in the School of Business at the University of Indianapolis, has been named dean of the school.

Evan Ortlieb, dean of the Zucker Family School of Education at The Citadel, has been named dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences at South Dakota State University.

Joseph H. Paris, executive director of graduate admissions at West Chester University, has been named dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies at Delaware Valley University.

Fernando Rosario-Ortiz, associate dean of faculty advancement in the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder, has been named interim dean of the School of Education.

Thomas Takayama, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Greenville Technical College, in South Carolina, has been named dean of business, creative, and performing arts at Guilford Technical Community College, in North Carolina.

Holly Wei, associate dean for research and scholarship and interim executive associate dean and chief nursing administrator at the East Tennessee State University College of Nursing, has been named dean of the School of Nursing at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.

Benjamin Withers, dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Colorado State University at Fort Collins, has been named dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University.

Resignations
Jennifer Johnson, dean of the Lewis & Clark Law School, will step down in August 2024 after 10 years in the role.

Jagath Kaluarachchi, dean of the College of Engineering at Utah State University, will step down in June 2024.

Christopher W. Stubbs, dean of science at Harvard University, will step down at the end of the academic year.

Retirements
Helene Dillard, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of California at Davis, will retire in 2024.

OTHER ADMINISTRATORS
Appointments
Levent Atici, executive director of undergraduate research at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, has been named associate vice provost for student-centered interdisciplinary initiatives at North Carolina State University.

Lori Byrd, associate director of academic programs and coordinator of health sciences for the North Carolina Community College system, has been named associate dean for strategic partnerships and practice at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing.

Rupal Gadhia, former senior vice president and global head of marketing for robots and home environment categories at SharkNinja, has been named managing director of MBA admissions and financial aid at Harvard University’s Business School.

Cathy Garzio, vice chair and director of finance and administration in the department of medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine, has been named executive vice provost and chief operating officer of Weill Cornell Medicine.

Kirsten Lavin, senior director of stewardship and donor engagement for the Johns Hopkins University, has been named associate dean of external relations at the university’s Peabody Institute.

Hang Lu, a professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and director of the interdisciplinary bioengineering graduate program at the Georgia Institute of Technology, has been named associate dean for research and innovation in the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech.

Emily Luhman, director of the Office for Academic Personnel at the University of New Mexico, has been named assistant vice president for human resources.

Torin Moore, a student-success adviser in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, has been named assistant dean for student affairs in the school.

Latasha Wade, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and student success at Elizabeth City State University, has been named associate vice provost for academic planning at North Carolina State University.

ORGANIZATIONS
Appointments
Charles L. Welch, president of the Arkansas State University system, has been named president and chief executive of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

DEATHS
William L. Boyle Jr., who served as president of Curry College from 1978 to 1992, died on November 10. He was 90.

Merle Goldman, a professor emerita of history at Boston University who focused on modern Chinese history, died on November 16. She was 92.

Harry Kisker, a former vice provost and dean of students at Washington University in St. Louis, died on November 14. He was 80.

Jim Steffy, a former vice president for planning and administration and interim president of Muhlenberg College, died on October 28. He was 89.

Kathleen Wilbur, senior vice president for government relations at Michigan State University, died on November 26. She was 70.

Submit items for Gazette to people@chronicle.com.