Three Black Women Appointed to Dean Positions at Universities

Henrika McCoy has been appointed as a professor of social work and the Morris Endowed Dean of the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver. She comes to her new role from the University of Texas at Austin, where she served as an associate professor of social work and the Ruby Lee Piester Centennial Fellow in Services to Children and Families.

Dr. McCoy is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, where she double-majored in African and African American studies and sociology. She holds a master of social work degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a master of jurisprudence degree in child and family law from Loyola University Chicago, and a Ph.D. in social work from Washington University.

Jeannine Dingus-Eason has been named dean of the College of Education and Human Services at Rider University in New Jersey. Most recently, she served as dean of the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development at Rhode Island College. She has conducted extensive research on advancing educational access for Black and Latino students and recently published a new book, A Thousand Worries: Black Women Mothering Autistic Sons (State University of New York Press, 2024).

Dr. Dingus-Eason is a graduate of the University of Rochester, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in English and master’s degree in secondary English education. She holds a doctorate from the University of Washington.

Vanessa Lopez-Littleton has been named dean of the School of Nursing & Health Studies at the University of Washington Bothell. She most recently served as interim dean of the College of Health Sciences and Human Services at California State University, Monterey Bay. With nearly three decades of higher education experience, she researches the social, economic, and political factors that lead to health inequities.

Dr. Lopez-Littleton holds a bachelor of nursing degree from Northwestern State University, a master of public administration degree from Louisiana State University, and a doctorate from the University of Central Florida.

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