Transitions: U. of Alaska at Anchorage Chooses New Chancellor, Smith College’s First Female President Dies at 83

Chief executives

Appointments

Jason N. Adsit, dean of the School of Arts, Sciences, and Education at D’Youville College, became president of Mount Saint Mary College, in New York, on June 1. He replaced David A. Kennett, who served as interim president since August of 2016.

David A. Armstrong, president of Thomas More College since 2013, will become president of St. Thomas University on August 1. He will succeed Msgr. Franklyn M. Casale, who plans to retire.

Santanu Bandyopadhyay, executive vice president for educational programs and student services at Cypress College, will become president of Columbia College, in California, on July 16. He will succeed Angela Fairchilds, who plans to retire at the end of June.

Tracy L. Brundage, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Keystone College, will become president on July 1. She will succeed David L. Coppola, who plans to step down.

Jeff Elwell, president of the Eastern New Mexico University system and of its main campus at Portales, has had his system leadership title changed from president to chancellor.

Larry R. Faulkner, president emeritus of the University of Texas at Austin, became interim chancellor of the University of Texas system on June 1. He replaces William H. McRaven, who stepped down.

Linda Fedrizzi-Williams, interim co-president of Central Penn College, will become president on June 18. She and Richard Varmecky, chief financial officer, have served as interim co-presidents since Karen Scolforo resigned in September.

Matthew Giordano, vice president for academic affairs at Villa Maria College of Buffalo, will become interim president on July 1. He will replace Sister Marcella Marie Garus, who will retire this month.

Gena Glickman, president of Manchester Community College, in Connecticut, has been named president of Massasoit Community College. She will replace William Mitchell, vice president for administration and chief financial officer, who has served as interim president since September.

Gregory Adam Haile, general counsel and vice president for public policy and government affairs at Broward College, will become president in July. He will replace David Armstrong, who plans to retire.

Mayme Hostetter, national dean at Relay Graduate School of Education, will become president on July 1. She will succeed Norman Atkins, who co-founded the school in 2008 and will be stepping down to become chair of the Board of Trustees and chief executive on the nonprofit organization Together Education.

John W. Mills, former interim senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at Mount Aloysius College and a former president of Paul Smith’s College, will be interim president of Mount Aloysius for the 2018-19 academic year. He will take over from Thomas P. Foley, who is stepping down to lead the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania.

John Mosby, vice president for student services at Mission College, will become president of Highline College in July. He will replace Jeff Wagnitz, who has served as interim president since the retirement of Jack Bermingham in August.

Paula P. Pando, senior vice president for student and educational services at Hudson County Community College, has been named president of J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College. She will succeed Gary Rhodes, who plans to retire in September after nearly 16 years at the helm.

Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson, dean of the College of Education and Human Services at Central Michigan University, will become president of Clarion University of Pennsylvania on July 1.

Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap, vice president for student services at South Seattle College, will become president on July 1. She will replace Peter Lortz, who has served as interim president since September.

Cathy Sandeen, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin Colleges and the University of Wisconsin-Extension, will become chancellor of the University of Alaska at Anchorage in September. She will replace Sam Gingerich, who has served as interim chancellor since July.

Zaldwaynaka (Z) Scott, a partner at the law firm Foley and Lardner, member of the Board of Trustees of Chicago State University from 2009 to 2013, and a former adjunct professor at Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and John Marshall Law School, will become president of Chicago State University on July 1. She will replace Rachel W. Lindsey, the current interim president.

Departures

Joann La Perla-Morales, president of Middlesex County College since 2005, plans to retire on June 30.

Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary since 2003, has been removed from his position. This follows criticism over comments he made in the past about sexual assault and abuse. The seminary’s official statement made no mention of these comments, and stated a need to “move in the direction of new leadership.” D. Jeffrey Bingham, dean of the School of Theology, will serve as interim president. Patterson was initially named president emeritus, but the Board of Trustees soon stripped him of that title.

Antonio Pérez, president of City University of New York Borough of Manhattan Community College since 1995, plans to step down on August 31. He is known, among other things, for helping the college recover and rebuild after one of its buildings was destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. One of the World Trade Center towers fell against the south wall of the campus structure.

Chuck Staben, president of the University of Idaho since 2014, plans to step down at the end of the 2018-2019 academic year.

Chief academic officers

Appointments

Elizabeth Mauch, former dean of the College of Education and professor of mathematics at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, has been named vice president for academic affairs at Bethany College.

Other top administrators

Appointments

Brett Dalton, executive vice president for finance and operations at Clemson University, will become chief business officer at Baylor University on July 1.

Susan Dileno, former vice president for enrollment management at Ohio Wesleyan University, became vice president for enrollment management at Ursuline College on May 29.

Libby Eckhardt, chief communications officer for the College of Arts and Sciences at Ohio State University, will become vice president for university communications and marketing at Tulane University on July 1.

Rolita Flores Ezeonu, interim vice president for academic affairs at Highline College, will become vice president for instruction at Green River College on July 2.

Steve Fetter, interim dean of the Graduate School at the University of Maryland at College Park, became associate provost and dean on June 1.

Avijit Ghosh, interim vice president and chief financial officer at the University of Illinois system, has been appointed to the position permanently.

Matthew P. Haag, associate vice president of clinical, research, and academic development at the University of Rochester Medical Center, will become vice president for development and alumni relations at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth University and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health on September 10.

Debbie Heida, vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Berry College, will become chief of staff on July 1.

Janelle Holmboe, vice president for enrollment and marketing at Warren Wilson College, will become vice president for enrollment management and dean of admissions at McDaniel College in mid-July.

Mark Kaplan, chair of the board of directors of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy and former chief of staff to Gov. Jeb Bush, became vice president for government and community relations at the University of Florida today.

Mike Leese, associate vice president for student affairs at Tarleton State University, will become vice president for student affairs on June 18. He will serve until his planned retirement at the end of the year.

Tony Proudfoot, interim senior vice president for marketing and communications at the University of Arizona, will become vice president for marketing and strategic communication at Western Michigan University on June 27.

Dawn Rigney, a former assistant vice president for alumni and parent relations at Pace University, became vice president for institutional advancement of the State University of New York College of Optometry and executive director of the Optometric Center of New York, the college’s affiliated foundation, on May 17.

Mark Scott, executive director of Campus Auxiliary Services Inc. at the State University of New York College at Geneseo, will become vice president for finance and administration on June 28.

Dale Scully, vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Buena Vista University, will become vice president for student life at Fresno Pacific University on July 1.

Brian Speer, vice president for marketing and communications at Wilson College, in Pennsylvania, will become vice president for communications at Muhlenberg College on June 11.

Lindsey Taylor, assistant vice president at Berry College, will become vice president for student affairs and dean of students.

Deans

Appointments

Ann Ardis, senior vice provost for graduate and professional education at the University of Delaware, will become dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at George Mason University in August.

Brian Edwards, a professor of Middle East studies, English, comparative literary studies, and American studies at Northwestern University, will become dean of Tulane University’s School of Liberal Arts on July 1.

Stephanie Hartwell, professor of sociology, interim dean of the College of Public and Community Service, and associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, will become dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Wayne State University on August 1.

Holly Jeffcoat, associate dean of libraries at the University of Connecticut, will become dean of libraries at Southern Methodist University on August 1.

Anne M. Kern, an associate professor of cinema studies and director of the Ciné Nomad Project at State University New York College at Purchase, has been named dean of global strategy and international programs.

Thomas Keyser, chair and professor of industrial engineering and engineering management in the College of Engineering at Western New England University, will become dean of the College of Engineering, Technology, and Management at Oregon Institute of Technology on August 1.

Zhan Li, professor and dean of the School of Economics and Business Administration at Saint Mary’s College of California, will become dean of the Charles F. Dolan School of Business and professor of marketing at Fairfield University on July 1.

Haven Lin-Kirk, professor and vice dean of design at the Roski School of Art and Design at the University of Southern California, will become dean on July 1.

Linda J. Mason, interim dean since August 2017 at the Graduate School at Purdue University at West Lafayette, has been named dean.

Robert L. McCarthy, a professor of pharmacy practice and dean emeritus at the School of Pharmacy at the University of Connecticut, will become dean of the College of Pharmacy at the University of New England on August 1.

Kathryn Ann (Kam) Moler, senior associate dean of natural sciences and professor of physics in the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University, will become vice provost and dean of research on September 1.

Tom Williams, associate dean of the School of English, Communication, Media, and Languages at Morehead State University, will become dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Central Arkansas on July 2.

Robert Wolff, a professor of history at Central Connecticut State University, will become dean of the Carol A. Ammon College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences on July 6.

Resignations

William L. Roper, dean of the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and chief executive of UNC Health Care, plans to step down in May 2019.

Department chairs

Appointments

Sean Adams, executive director of the two-year M.F.A. program in graphic design at Art Center College of Design, has been named interim chair of the undergraduate and graduate graphic design departments.

Shannan Palma, commmunications manager in the Office of Global Strategy and Initiatives at Emory University, has been named faculty director of the writing and digital-communication graduate program at Agnes Scott College.

Retirements

Ed Simpson, chair and professor of theatre performance at High Point University, has retired.

Other administrators

Appointments

Phillip Bailey, interim associate vice president for international engagement at the University of Central Arkansas, has been appointed to the position permanently.

Portia Hoeg, director of athletics and recreation at Allegheny College, has been named executive director of athletics at Rhodes College.

Adnan A. Hyder, professor and associate chair of international health, director of the Health Systems Program and the International Injury Research Unit at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, will become senior associate dean of research and professor of global health at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University on August 15.

Andrés Jaque, an adjunct associate professor of advanced design studios at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, became director of the master-of-science program in advanced architectural design on June 1.

The Rev. Kristen Glass Perez, chaplain and director of vocational exploration at Augustana College, in Illinois, will become college chaplain at Muhlenberg College on June 15.

robbie routenberg, interim chief diversity officer at the State University of New York College at Geneseo, became the first chief diversity officer at the college on May 31.

Michael T. Stephenson, associate provost for academic affairs and professor of communication at Texas A&M University, has been named vice provost for academic affairs and strategic initiatives.

Scott Tindle, co-owner of a tourist-attractions holding company, Think Bigger, will become director of athletic partnerships and innovation at University of Mobile on July 1.

Retirements

Michael Ingram, head of technical services and system librarian at High Point University, has retired.

Bob Roberts, chief of the University Police Department at West Virginia University since 1990, has retired. William (W.P.) Chedester, a major in the department, succeeded him as chief on June 1.

Faculty

Appointments

Tony Merida, author and founding pastor of Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, N.C., has been named visiting professor of homiletics and culture in the School of Christian Studies at the University of Mobile.

Changes in rank

Professors’ new ranks follow.

Virginia Tech

Geoffrey Saunders, an associate professor of pathology in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech, to emeritus

Robert Broadwater, a professor of electrical and computer engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, to emeritus

Deaths

Jill Ker Conway, the first female president of Smith College from 1975 to 1985, died on June 1, in Boston. She was 83. During her tenure, she helped increase the college’s endowment from $82 million to $222 million, oversaw the construction of a new gymnasium and the expansion of the athletic program, and fostered the development of the Ada Comstock Scholars Program, which aims to help women of nontraditional college age receive their bachelor’s degree. She came to the women’s college at a time when it was still largely led by men, during a pivotal time in women’s education. Among her other published works, Conway wrote a trilogy of memoirs about her journey from her childhood on a sheep ranch in Australia to the presidency at Smith College — The Road From Coorain (Knopf, 1989), True North (Knopf, 1994), and A Woman’s Education (Knopf, 2001). In 2012, she received the National Humanities Medal in recognition of her achievements as a historian and academic leader.

Carolyn Pope Edwards, who was a professor at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln for 18 years, died on May 31. During her long academic career, Edwards taught at Vassar College, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and the University of Kentucky. Her work in early-childhood education included editing The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Childhood Education (Ablex Publishing, 1993) with Lella Gandini and George Forman.

Herbert Isbin, a former professor of chemical engineering and material science at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities for 33 years, died on May 12. He was 98.

Robert P. Newman, a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh from 1952 to 1984, died on April 17. He was 96. Newman also taught at the University of Iowa from 1995 to 2003, and published over 70 scholarly articles and several books. He is especially known for Owen Lattimore and the ‘Loss’ of China (University of California Press, 1992), which he called “a study in American political demonology.”

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