John Girton Jr. was promoted to executive vice president and chief of staff at Martin University in Indianapolis. He was the vice president of marketing, communications, and external relations at the predominately Black university. Earlier in his career, Girton held posts in marketing, communications, and instructional design at the University of Indianapolis, ITT Technical Institute, and Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
Girton holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Ball State University in Muncie Indiana. He earned a master’s degree in urban ministry studies from Martin University.
Delisle Warden is the new vice president for policy and general counsel at Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland. He had been serving as associate dean for the Center for Professional Development and Career Strategy at the George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C.
Warden earned a bachelor’s degree in international studies from Emory University in Atlanta. He holds an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis and a juris doctorate from Harvard Law School, where he served as the general editor of the Harvard BlackLetter Law Journal.
Rhonda Owens was named associate dean of administration and operations for the University of Chicago Library. Owens comes to the University of Chicago from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, where she served as assistant dean of strategic operations, overseeing budget management, strategic planning and operations, regulatory compliance, and academic activities.
Dr. Owens holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s degree in inner-city studies education from Northeastern Illinois University. She holds a doctorate in organizational leadership from Argosy University.
Juan McGruder has been appointed as senior vice president of institutional advancement at Meharry Medical College in Nashville. He was vice president of advancement at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta. Earlier in his career, he worked in institutional advancement at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta and the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Dr. McGruder earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in counseling and human development from Clark Atlanta University. He holds a master’s degree in educational administration, planning, and social policy from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in education and human development from Peabody College at Vanderbilt University.
Sandra D. Yates is the new associate vice chancellor for development at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina. Most recently, she led advancement operations at Morehouse College in Atlanta. Earlier, she held advancement posts at Wesley College, Swarthmore College, Lincoln University, and Talladega College.
Yates holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Delaware State University. She is currently studying for a master of divinity degree from the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
W. Franklin Evans was appointed director of the Boeing Institute on Civility and vice president of innovation at Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina. He is the former president of what is now Voorhees University, the former provost and interim president at South Carolina State University, and the former president of West Liberty University in West Virginia.
Dr. Evans is a graduate of the University of Georgia, where he majored in entomology. He holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in higher education administration from Georgia State University in Atlanta.
