Venessa Funches was appointed associate dean at the Montgomery, Alabama, campus of Auburn University. She also serves as an associate professor of marketing at the university.
Dr. Funches is a graduate of Tulane University in New Orleans. She earned an MBA at the University of Alabama Birmingham and a Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Alabama.
Nancy L. Jones is the inaugural associate dean for development and alumni relations at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. She was vice president for advancement and alumni relations at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania and has served as director of development at Virginia State University and Dillard University in New Orleans.
A graduate of Howard University in Washington, D.C., Jones earned master’s degrees at the Claremont School of Theology in California and the New Brunswick Theological Seminary in New Jersey.
Michael A. Ellington is the new interim vice president for student life at West Virginia University. He had been serving as associate vice president for student affairs. He joined the staff at the university in 1993 after working at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Ellington earned his bachelor’s degree in 1985 and a master’s degree in 1991, both from West Virginia University.
Michael Williams was named interim director of athletics at the University of California, Berkeley. He has been serving as vice chair of the University of California, Berkeley Foundation. In 2009, Williams retired as vice chair for capital markets for Barclays Global Investors.
Williams is a 1982 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. He majored in economics and was a member of the university’s wrestling team.
Kenyatta Tatum Futterman was appointed special assistant to the dean of students at the University of Chicago. She will investigate allegations of student sexual misconduct and advise the administration on best practices for prevention and discipline.
A graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta, Futterman holds a law degree from DePaul University in Chicago.
Zella Palmer was appointed director of the Ray Charles Program in African American Material Culture at Dillard University in New Orleans. She has served as the curator for the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago and the Southern Food & Beverage Museum in New Orleans.
Palmer is a graduate of Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, where she majored in bilingual and bicultural education. She holds a master’s degree in museum studies from the University of Toronto.
Loretta A. Moore was promoted to vice president for research and federal relations at Jackson State University in Mississippi. She has served in the post on an interim basis and previously was associate vice president for research and scholarly engagement. Dr. Moore joined the faculty at the university 16 years ago as chair of the department of computer science.
Dr. Moore is a graduate of Jackson State University. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in computer science from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.
Angela Simmons was promoted to assistant vice president for student affairs at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She was director of student conduct at the university. Before joining the staff at Virginia Tech, Simmons was director of the Center for Student Involvement at Millersville University in Pennsylvania.
Simmons holds a bachelor’s degree in educational psychology and a master’s degree in counselor education from Mississippi State University. She is finishing work on her doctorate in higher education from Florida State University.
Marquetta Faulkner was appointed interim dean of the School of Medicine at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. She has been on the faculty at Meharry for 25 years and served most recently as associate dean of graduate medical education and vice chair of the department of internal medicine.
Dr. Faulkner is a graduate of Meharry Medical College.
