BRIEF
Reed College, known for attracting the free-spirited, has chosen as its next president Oregon’s attorney general, John Kroger. The search committee praised Mr. Kroger, a former law professor and a federal prosecutor, for his commitment to diversity and the liberal arts. He will replace Colin S. Diver, who is retiring. Local prosecutors had encouraged Mr. Diver to step up drug enforcement on the campus two years ago following a student’s death by heroin overdose; he told the student paper that one of his regrets is that he did not do more to deal with illegal drug use earlier.
JOB MOVES
Layli Maparyan, who is known for her scholarship in the area of “womanism” and adolescent development, has been named executive director of the Wellesley Centers for Women, which develops programs focused on women’s and girls’ perspectives. Womanism examines everyday women’s contributions to global discussions of social and environmental problems. Ms. Maparyan is an associate professor at Georgia State University’s Women’s Studies Institute.
Howard D. Grimes, vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School at Washington State University, has decided to return to the faculty. A professor of molecular plant sciences, he wants to once again pursue “cutting-edge solutions to the food-production problems that burden us all,” he says. Nancy Magnuson, a professor of molecular biosciences at the university, has been appointed to fill his two administrative posts on an interim basis starting May 1.
LEADERSHIP ROLE
The Rev. Joseph M. McShane, president of Fordham University, was named chair last week of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities, an association representing the public-policy interests of more than 100 colleges in New York State.
IN MEMORIAM
The president of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Matt Branam, died unexpectedly on April 20 following a medical emergency in his office, the university said. He was 57 and had led the institution, his alma mater, since 2009. Under his leadership, the university created a center where students can work on innovative team projects, began construction on a bioscience-research laboratory, and expanded global and diversity efforts.
Helmut Krawinkler, a professor emeritus in civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University who was known for his contributions to earthquake safety, died on April 16 at age 72. He had been undergoing follow-up treatment for a brain tumor.
Doris Betts, a creative-writing professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for more than three decades, died April 21 at age 79. She was the author of six novels and other works.