Transitions: Seminary Chooses Its First African-American President, Skidmore College Selects New Treasurer

Chief executives

Appointments

Wanda M. Austin, former chief executive of the nonprofit organization Aerospace, and a member of the Defense Policy Board and the University of Southern California Board of Trustees, has been named interim president of the university.

The Rev. Alton B. Pollard III, former dean of the School of Divinity and a professor of religion and culture at Howard University, became president of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary this month. He will be the first African-American in that role. He succeeds the Rev. Michael Jinkins, who is retiring.

Retirements

Teresa Dreyfuss, president and superintendent of Rio Hondo College since 2013, plans to retire at the end of the 2018-19 academic year.

Kenneth R. Garren, president of the University of Lynchburg since 2001, plans to retire on June 30, 2020.

Chief academic officers

Appointments

The Rev. Steed Vernyl Davidson, an associate professor of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, will become vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at McCormick Theological Seminary on September 4.

Other top administrators

Appointments

Shakeer Abdullah, assistant vice president for equity and diversity at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, has been named vice president for student affairs at Clayton State University.

Harold Blackman, associate vice president for research and economic development at Boise State University, has been named interim vice president for research and economic development.

DeShanna Brown, director of development for the Division of Student Affairs at Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge, will become vice president for institutional advancement, development, marketing and communications at Edward Waters College on September 17.

Jeffery T. Burgin Jr., associate vice president and dean of students at Kentucky State University, has been named acting vice president for enrollment management and student engagement.

John Cowles, dean of student success and retention for Grand Rapids Community College, will become vice chancellor for student success at Ivy Tech Community College on September 17.

Patricia Goldman, director of the Feminist Institute and former senior vice president for marketing and communications at the March of Dimes, will become vice president for advancement and external relations at Sarah Lawrence College on September 12.

Randall Hewes, dean of the Graduate College at the University of Oklahoma at Norman, has been named interim vice president for research.

Juan Armando Rojas Joo, associate dean of diversity and inclusion at Ohio Wesleyan University, has been named chief diversity officer.

Jim Langstraat, vice president for finance and administration at Portland Community College, will become vice president for finance and administration at Pacific University on October 1.

Natalie Mason-Kinsey, chief officer for Equal Employment Opportunity for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Bus Company, in New York City, became chief diversity officer at California State University at Northridge in May.

Terry Mularkey, executive director for development and community relations at Nova Southeastern University, has been named the university’s first chief of staff.

Donna Ng, senior vice president for finance and administration at Simmons College, will become vice president for finance and administration and treasurer at Skidmore College on October 1.

Gabrielle Simpson, global director of communications and public relations at the marketing firm, Foote, Cone & Belding and an adjunct professor of marketing and communications at New York University, became vice president, head of communications at Barnard College on August 20.

Barbara Sunderman, a professor of teacher education at Hastings College, has been named interim vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty.

Anne Valentine, vice president for enrollment services and customer service at Ivy Tech Community College, became vice president for workforce partnerships on August 6.

Bridget Weatherspoon, senior director of student recruitment and advocate marketing at United Theological Seminary, has been named vice president for enrollment.

Resignations

Kelvin Droegemeier, vice president for research and a professor of meteorology at the University of Oklahoma at Norman, has stepped down from that role and is taking a leave of absence without pay from the university after being nominated as director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the White House.

Benjamin D. Reese Jr., vice president for institutional equity at Duke University, plans to step down in 2019.

Retirements

Barbara Jones, vice president for student affairs at Boston College, retired this summer.

Deans

Appointments

Sara (Sally) Bachman, a professor of social work and public health and director of the Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health at Boston University, will become dean of the School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania on January 1.

Michelle Ferrier, an associate professor at the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, will become dean of the School of Journalism and Graphic Communication at Florida A&M University on October 1.

David S. Hood, dean of University College at North Carolina Central University, became the founding dean of University College and associate provost for undergraduate education at Montclair State University on August 1.

Shetina M. Jones, senior associate director at Texas A&M University at Commerce, has been named dean of students at Wilberforce University.

Pamela Holland Obiomon, a professor of electrical and microelectronic engineering at Prairie View A&M University, has been named dean of the Roy G. Perry College of Engineering.

Daniel Quigley, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at New York Institute of Technology, has been named to the position permanently.

Stan Sclaroff, a professor of computer science at Boston University, has been named interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Michael J. Solomon, a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, became dean of the Rackham Graduate School and vice provost for academic affairs-graduate studies on July 1.

Stephen Stookey, a professor of religion at Wayland Baptist University, became dean of the School of Religion and Philosophy on September 1.

Sarah Ingram Westerberg, associate dean of students at Brigham Young University, has been named dean of students.

Resignations

Andrew W. Moore, dean of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, plans to step down at the end of this year.

Department chairs

Appointments

Willie S. Rockward, a professor and chair of physics and research director of the Materials and Optics Research and Engineering Laboratory at Morehouse College, has been named chair and professor of physics at Morgan State University’s School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences.

Other administrators

Appointments

Cornell William Brooks, former president and chief executive of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, has been named professor of the practice of public leadership and social justice and director of the William Monroe Trotter Collaborative for Social Justice at John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Michelle Cawley, a senior technical specialist at ICF International, became head of clinical, academic, and research engagement in the Health Sciences Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on August 13.

Daniel Derksen, chair and director of the Center for Rural Health and professor of public health at the University of Arizona, has been named associate vice president for health equity, outreach, and interprofessional activities.

Brighid Dwyer, director of the Program on Intergroup Relations at Villanova University, will become associate dean of diversity and inclusion at Princeton University on October 1.

Debra Foster, senior associate director for administrative planning in the Office of the Executive Vice President at Princeton University, will become assistant vice president for campus services on September 24.

Shernita Lee, a programs specialist in education and outreach for the Biocomplexity Institute at Virginia Tech, has been named director of the Graduate School Office of Recruitment, Diversity, and Inclusion.

John Mahoney, dean of undergraduate admission and financial aid at Boston College, has been named vice provost for enrollment management.

Connie Cooper Shepherd, president and chief executive of Cooper Consulting, in Seattle, and executive-board director for Special Olympics Washington, has been named executive vice president for strategy and planning at Palm Beach Atlantic University.

Zachary Shirley, director of fraternity and sorority life at the University of Cincinnati, has been named assistant dean of student life and learning at Indiana University at Bloomington.

Wendy Maragh Taylor, director of the Campus Life ALANA Center and co-chair of the Engaged Pluralism Initiative at Vassar College, became the associate dean of the College for Student Growth and Engagement at Vassar College in August.

Julie Yun, assistant dean for access, diversity, and inclusion in the Graduate School at Princeton University, became associate dean for diversity and inclusion in the School of Engineering and Applied Science on August 13.

Faculty

Appointments

Michelle L. Rockward, an assistant chair and assistant professor of mathematics at Georgia State University, has been named assistant to the chair and lecturer of mathematics at Morgan State University’s School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences.

Michael Steele, former chair of the Republican National Committee and lieutenant governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007, has been named a faculty fellow at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.

Tenure awards

The following professors were awarded tenure at their institutions. If a faculty rank is not included, the faculty member is being promoted to the rank of associate professor. The changes take effect on varying dates.

U. of Alaska-Southeast

Andrea Dewees, associate professor of Spanish

David Noon, professor of history

X’unei Lance Twitchell, associate professor of Alaska native languages

Math Trafton, associate professor of English

Ernestine Hayes, professor of English

Organizations

Appointments

Michael Adewumi, vice provost for global programs at Pennsylvania State University at University Park, will become executive vice president for academic affairs at IES Abroad on January 2.

Mark Erickson, president of Northampton Community College, will become board chair of Community Colleges for International Development in September.

Retirements

Mariam Assefa, executive director of the international-credential evaluation service World Education Services since 1982, plans to retire in 2019.

Deaths

Larry Alan Doll, an associate professor emeritus of architecture at University of Texas at Austin, died of a heart attack on July 21. He was 69. Doll taught at the university since 1975 and served as assistant dean of architecture from 1983 to 1993.

Michael Meyer, an associate teaching professor in the department of philosophy and religion at Northeastern University since 1983, died on August 24. He was 72.

Submit items for Gazette to people@chronicle.com.