Four Black Scholars Who Have Been Assigned New Duties at Major Universities

Tony Gaskew was appointed associate dean and associate vice president of academic affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, Bradford. He holds a teaching appointment as a tenured full professor of criminal justice and faculty affiliate in Africana studies.

Dr. Gaskew is the author of Stop Trying To Fix Policing: Lessons Learned From The Front Lines of Black Liberation (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020). He holds a bachelor’s degree in behavioral science from Barry University in Miami, Florida. He earned his master’s degree in criminal justice and Ph.D. in conflict analysis from Nova Southeastern University.

Julia Ballenger, a professor in the department of educational leadership at Texas A&M University-Commerce, has been selected to become a Regents Professor. The award is the highest honor bestowed to faculty members in the Texas A&M System. She joined the faculty at Texas A&M University-Commerce in 2012 after teaching at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, and Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth.

Dr. Ballenger holds a bachelor’s degree in special education and psychology and a master’s degree in elementary special education from what is now Texas A&M University-Commerce. She earned a doctorate in educational administration from the University of Texas at Austin.

Theddeus Iheanacho, associate professor of psychiatry at Yale Medical School, is the new faculty director of the Yale Global Mental Health Program. The program usually attracts five or six residents who spend the year learning about mental health care systems in different countries and how mental health professionals in other countries practice. They also get to know the challenges of reaching underserved populations across the world.

Dr. Iheanacho received his medical training at Abia State University in Uturu, Nigeria, and the Royal College of Surgeons in London.

Wanda Heading-Grant was named Distinguished Service Professor in the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, effective April 1. She will also serve as the inaugural vice provost for diversity, equity, and inclusion and chief diversity officer at the university. She has been serving as vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion and as a clinical associate professor in the College of Education and Social Services at the University of Vermont.

Dr. Heading-Grant earned a bachelor’s degree in social work and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies from the University of Vermont. She also holds a master of social work degree from Adelphi University in Garden City, New York.

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