Lindsay Vahl Dean has been named assistant vice president of alumni engagement and executive director of the Northwestern Alumni Association at Northwestern University in Illinois. She has served as the alumni association’s interim director for the past year. Earlier in her career, she held several alumni engagement roles at Illinois State University.
Dr. Vahl Dean is a three-time graduate of Illinois State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and exercise science, a master’s degree in college student personnel administration, and a Ph.D. higher education administration.
Kellei Samuels has been named chief of staff at Tuskegee University in Alabama. In addition to her new responsibilities, she will retain her current position as the university’s vice president of institutional effectiveness. She also serves as Tuskegee’s liaison to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
Dr. Samuels holds a bachelor’s degree and Ph.D. from Jackson State University in Mississippi. Prior to earning her doctorate, she received a master’s degree from Mississippi State University.
Kentrice S. Rush has been promoted from interim director to permanent director of marketing in the division of university communications at Jackson State University in Mississippi. She has been with the university for the past nine years, holding positions such as social media associate and digital media manager.
Rush received her bachelor’s degree in marketing from Jackson State University and her MBA from Clark Atlanta University.
Rodney D. Chism, Sr. has been appointed band director for Kentucky State University’s Mighty Marching Thorobred Band. He has an extensive career directing bands at the junior high, high school, and college levels. Outside of the education industry, he performs as a professional saxophonist.
Dr. Chism holds a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, a master’s degree in music education from Jackson State University, and a doctorate in music education from Liberty University in Virginia.
Christal Cadenhead has been named executive director of enrollment management at Kansas State University Salina. She has been a member of the university’s staff for the past year, serving as the director of advising. Earlier in her career, she spent over a decade in student services positions with Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, Nebraska.
Cadenhead holds a bachelor’s degree in speech communication and public relations from McKendree University in Illinois and a master’s degree in academic advising from Kansas State University.
La’Quasha A. Dixon has been appointed director of marketing and development at Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina. She has over a decade of marketing and advertising experience with public and private organizations, higher education institutions, and nonprofits.
Dixon holds a master’s degree in public relations from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in public administration from Walden University.
Ted Evans has been named executive director of the Laura and Alvin Siegal Lifelong Learning Program at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. The program is an outreach initiative that provides personal enrichment opportunities to local community members. Most recently, he served as director of the entrepreneurship program at Oberlin University in Ohio.
Evans is a graduate of Wilberforce University in Ohio, where he majored in business. He received his MBA from Case Western Reserve University.
