Six African American Faculty Members Who Are Taking on New Roles or Duties in Higher Education

Kimberly Mayfield, an associate professor of education and dean of the School of Education at Holy Names University in Oakland, California, has been given the added duties of vice president for external relations and strategic partnerships. She became a full-time faculty member in 2001 and dean of the School of Education in 2017.

Dr. Mayfield holds a master’s degree in education and a doctorate in learning and instruction from the University of San Francisco.

Hugh Mighty, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and dean at the Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, D.C., was given the added duties of senior vice president for health affairs at the university.

Dr. Mighty is a graduate of Georgetown University in Washington D.C. He earned his medical degree at the University of Maryland and holds an MBA from Loyola University in Baltimore.

Thelma Hurd has been appointed the inaugural Thondapu Family Endowed Chair in Medical Education at the University of California, Merced. In 2019, Dr. Hurd was appointed the director of the university’s medical education program after serving as a clinician, public health researcher, and translational scientist. Her research interests include health disparities and clinical oncology.

Dr. Hurd is a graduate of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. She earned her medical degree at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey and holds a master of public health degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Martell Teasley, dean of the College of Social Work at the University of Utah, will be taking on the added duties of associate provost and special assistant to the senior vice president for academic affairs. Dr. Teasley, who joined the faculty at the university in 2017, has served as president of the National Association of Deans and Directors of Schools of Social Work and is the former editor-in-chief of the academic journal Children & Schools.

Dr. Teasley is a graduate of Fayetteville State University in North Carolina, where he double majored in sociology and psychology. He holds a master of social work degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Ph.D. in social work from Howard University in Washington, D.C.

DeAnnah Byrd is a new assistant professor in the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation at Arizona State University. She studies the effects of chronic conditions, psychosocial stressors, and coping behaviors on memory and cognitive changes in older Blacks, with a focus on reducing dementia among minority aging populations.

Dr. Byrd earned a Ph.D. at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Castel V. Sweet, an assistant professor of practice in community engagement at the University of Mississippi, was given the added duties of director of the new Center for Community Engagement at the university. She was the inaugural director of community engagement and diversity, equity, and inclusion in the L. William Crotty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at the University of Dayton in Ohio.

Dr. Sweet is a graduate of Hampton University in Virginia. She earned master’s and doctoral degrees in sociology from Louisiana State University.

 

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