A Trio of Black Scholars Appointed to Positions as Deans

Ronald Aubert has been appointed interim dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. Richard J. Reddick was appointed dean of the School of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Texas at Austin and Sharon Porterfield was appointed dean of the College of Education at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Frederick Community College in Maryland Has Chosen Annessa Cheek as Its Next President

Dr. Cheek has served as president of St. Cloud Technical and Community College in Minnesota since 2018. From 2014 to 2018, she was vice president of school and community partnerships at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio. She had been on the staff at that college since 2006.

Jomo Mutegi Selected to Lead the National Association for Research in Science Technology

NARST is a worldwide organization for improving science teaching and learning through research. Dr. Mutegi, an associate professor of science education at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, has been a member of NARST since 1995.

A Pair of African American Women Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Positions

Sharon Porterfield was appointed dean of the College of Education at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Shatrela Washington-Hubbard was named the Swinton A. Griffith III Dean of the College of Business & Communication at Brenau University in Gainesville, Georgia.

Hampton University’s Felicia Blow Elected Chair of the Public Relations Society of America

Dr. Blow joined the staff at Hampton University in 2017 as associate vice president for development. She had previously worked in manufacturing, waste management and environmental services, telecommunications, and for Paul D. Camp Community College and Tidewater Community College.

Syracuse University’s Gwendolyn Pough to Lead the Rhetoric Society of America

Gwendolyn Pough, dean’s professor of the humanities and professor of women’s and gender studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University in New York, will serve a six-year term as president-elect, president, and past-president, of the Rhetoric Society of America, beginning in July.

Rodney Priestley Will Be the Next Dean of the Graduate School at Princeton University

Dr. Priestley joined the Princeton faculty as an assistant professor in 2009 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles in Paris. He became an associate professor in 2015 and a full professor in 2019.

Ruth Simmons Announces She Plans to Step Down as President of Prairie View A&M...

Ruth Simmons, president of Prairie View A&M University in Texas, has announced that she plans to retire but is willing to continue serving in the role until her successor is named. Dr. Simmons came out of retirement in 2017 to lead the historically Black university.

LaTonia Collins Smith Is the New President of Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis

Dr. Colllins Smith has been serving as interim president since last summer. Before being named interim president, Dr. Collins Smith had been serving as provost and vice president for academic affairs at the university. She has been on the staff at the university since 2010.

Three Black Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to University Dean Positions

Martine Kei Green-Rogers was appointed dean of The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago. Michael Abazinge was appointed dean of the School of the Environment at Florida A&M University and Pero G. Dagbovie was named associate provost for graduate and postdoctoral studies and dean of the Graduate School at Michigan State University.

La Jerne Terry Cornish Appointed the Tenth President of Ithaca College in New York

Dr. Cornish has been serving as interim president since August 30, 2021. From 2018 to 2021, Dr. Cornish served as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at the college. Earlier, she was associate provost for undergraduate studies at Goucher College in Baltimore.

Steve Stoute Will Be the Twenty-Fifth President of Canisius College in Buffalo, New York

Stoute currently serves as vice president for strategic initiatives and chief of staff at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. Born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, Stoute immigrated to the United States in 2000 to attend Seton Hall University in New Jersey.

Tyrone Howard Selected to Lead the American Educational Research Association

Tyrone Howard is director of the Black Male Institute and holder of the Pritzker Family Endowed Chair in Education to Strengthen Families at the University of California, Los Angeles. He will serve for a year as president-elect and begin his presidency at the conclusion of the association’s 2023 annual meeting.

A Pair of African American Women Who Have Been Selected to Serve as Provosts

Kimberly Battle-Walters Denu was named provost at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, effective August 1 and Dorothy Campbell was appointed interim provost and chief academic officer at New Mexico State University.

Dietra Trent Is the New Leader of the White House Initiative on HBCUs

Since 2019, Dr. Trent has been serving as chief of staff for the president of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Earlier, she was secretary of education for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The Southern University System Appoints Dennis Shields as Its New Leader

Shields has been the chancellor for the University of Wisconsin-Platteville since 2010. Prior to his current position in Wisconsin, Shields held administrative positions in admissions at the University of Iowa College of Law, University of Michigan Law School, and the Duke University School of Law.

Walt Jacobs Will Be the Next Provost at California State University, East Bay

Since 2015, Dr. Jacobs has served as the dean of the College of Social Sciences at San José State University. Prior to his arrival in California, he was the founding dean of the College of Social Sciences and Professional Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

University of Michigan Provost Susan Collins to Lead the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

When she takes office on July 1, Susan Collins will be only the second Black president and first Black woman to head one of the 12 Federal Reserve banks in the century-plus history of the institution.

Sonya Smith to Lead the State University of New York’s Small Business Development Center...

Sonya Smith was named the SUNY State Director of the New York Small Business Development Centers. She is the first woman and first African American appointed to lead New York’s vast SBDC network in its nearly 40-year history.

Arizona State University Scholar Is the New Head of the National Endowment for the...

Maria Rosario Jackson is an Institute Professor in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University. Professor Jackson, who is of Mexican American and African American descent, also holds an appointment in the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions at Arizona State.

Livingstone College President Jimmy Jenkins Announces That He Will Retire on July 1

Dr. Jenkins has served as president of the historically Black college for the past 16 years. He is credited with saving the college from closure from its accrediting agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

Four African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Positions

The four scholars appointed to dean positions are Ulysses Taylor at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina, Marla Harris at Mitchell Community College in Statesville, North Carolina, Walter T. Tillman Jr. at Edward Waters University in Jacksonville, Florida, and Stella Bridgeman at Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Oklahoma City Community Colleges Names Mautra Jones as its Eleventh President

Dr. Jones has been serving as vice president of institutional advancement and external affairs at Langston University. She is the site administrator for the university’s Oklahoma City campus, as well as the executive director of the Langston University Foundation.

Talitha Washington Selected to Lead the Association for Women in Mathematics

Talitha Washington, a professor of the mathematical sciences at Clark Atlanta University and the director of the Atlanta University Center Data Science Initiative, has been named president-elect of the Association for Women in Mathematics. She will become president of the organization in 2023.

Michael Lindsey Named Dean of the School of Social Work at New York University

Dr. Lindsey is the Constance and Martin Silver Professor of Poverty Studies at New York University. He also serves as executive director of the university’s McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research.

Robin Holmes-Sullivan Chosen to Be the 26th President of Lewis & Clark College in...

Dr. Homes-Sullivan is currently the vice president for student life and dean of students at the college. She came to Lewis & Clark in 2019 from the University of California System, where she served as vice president for student affairs. Earlier, she spent 27 years at the University of Oregon rising to the position of vice president of student life.

Mark Melton to Serve as Provost at Saint Augustine’s University

Dr. Melton has been serving as a professor of biology and dean for the School of Sciences, Mathematics, and Allied Health at the university. During his tenure at the university, Dr. Melton has been chair of the department of biological and physical sciences and director of the honors program.

Lonnie T. Brown Jr. Will Be the New Leader of the College of Law...

Lonnie Brown is currently the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor and holds the A. Gus Cleveland Distinguished Chair of Legal Ethics and Professionalism at the University of Georgia School of Law. He will begin his new duties on July 1.

Two African American Women Appointed to Dean Positions in Massachusetts

Gretchen Long, the Frederick Rudolph ’42 – Class of 1965 Professor of American Culture at Williams College in Williamstown, will serve as the next dean of the college and Margaret Vendryes has been appointed dean of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University in Medford.

The Inaugural Dean of Texas A&M University’s Intercollegiate School of Engineering Medicine

Roderic I. Pettigrew is the Robert A. Welch Professor in the Texas A&M University College of Medicine and professor of biomedical engineering in the College of Engineering. He will lead the new school that will allow graduates to receive both a doctorate of medicine and master’s degree in engineering in four years.

Jennifer Brown Will Be the Next Provost at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Dr. Brown is currently the vice provost and dean for undergraduate education at the University of California, Riverside. Prior to joining the University of California, Riverside in 2018, Dr. Brown served as vice provost and dean of the Graduate School at Oregon State University. She began her faculty career at Purdue University in 2004. She will begin her new duties on April 1.

Beronda L. Montgomery Will Be the Next Dean of Grinnell College in Iowa

Dr. Montgomery currently serves as a professor in the departments of biochemistry and molecular biology and microbiology and molecular genetics, as well as assistant vice president for research and innovation at Michigan State University. She will begin her new job on July 1.

A Pair of Black Women Who Have Been Appointed to Provost Positions

Kathy Littles was named provost at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco and Donna Bradley is the new provost at Lincoln College in Lincoln, Illinois.

Yoshiko Harden Is the New Interim President of Seattle Central College in Washington State

Dr. Harden served as vice president for student services at Seattle Central College from 2016 to 2021. Prior to Seattle Central, she served as vice president for diversity at Bellevue College, and as director of multicultural services and student development at Highline College in Des Moines, Washington.

Two African American Women Who Are Taking on New Duties as Deans

Amy Tillerson-Brown, a professor of history, is the new dean of the Mary Baldwin College for Women at Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, Virginia, and Chandrika Johnson has been appointed as the interim dean of the College of Education at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina.

Marlon Hall Appointed to Lead Fresno City College in California

Before being named interim president at Fresno City College, Dr. Hall spent seven and a half years as superintendent/president at Lassen Community College, in Susanville, California. He retired from that post in December 2019.

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