Four Black Scholars Who Have Been Assigned New Duties

Anderson Sunda-Meya, a Norwood Endowed Professor of Physics, at Xavier University in New Orleans, will take on a new role as associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences. He joined the faculty at the university 13 years ago. Dr. Sunda-Meya will continue to serve as the director of the dual-degree engineering program.

Dr. Sunda-Meya is a graduate of North Carolina Central University, where he majored in physics. He holds a Ph.D. in condensed matter and materials physics from North Carolina State University.

Julianne Vernon, a research assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, has been appointed interim associate dean for academic success in the university’s School of Engineering. She will continue serving as assistant dean for academic programs and manage the initiatives on first-year experience, study abroad, and international recruitment.

Dr. Vernon received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the City College of New York. She holds a Ph.D. in environmental engineering from the University of Florida.

Malika Jeffries-EL, an associate professor of chemistry at Boston University, has been given the added duties of associate dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Her research focuses on the development of organic semiconductors and their use in optical and electronic devices. Prior to joining the chemistry faculty at Boston University in 2016, Dr. Jeffries-EL was an associate professor at Iowa State University.

Dr. Jeffries-EL is a graduate of Wellesley College in Massachusetts, where she majored in chemistry and Africana studies. She holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

John Brown, director of the Duke University Jazz Program and professor of the practice of music, has been named vice provost for the arts at the university. Brown joined Duke University’s music department as an adjunct instructor in 2001 and was appointed an assistant professor in 2003.

Brown holds a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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