Eight New Appointments of Women to Administrative Positions in Higher Education

Anne Khademian was named director of the School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech. She has been serving as director of the Center for Public Administration and Policy at the university. Dr. Khademian has been on the faculty at Virginia Tech since 2004. Previously, she taught at the University of Wisconsin, the University of Michigan, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Khademian is a graduate of Michigan State University. She earned a Ph.D. in political science at Washington University.

Laura Meadows was appointed interim director of the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia. Since 2009 she has held the position of associate director of the training division of the institute which provides professional development education to thousands of local state government officials and staff members each year.

Martha Dodge was named director of the Energy Systems Engineering Institute at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She will also serve as a professor of practice in the department of electrical and computer engineering. She was a senior administrator at PPL Electric Utilities.

Dodge earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and an MBA from Lehigh University.

Sheilah Shaw Horton was appointed vice president for student affairs at Loyola University Maryland. She was associate vice president for student affairs and dean for student development at Boston College. Horton has been an administrator at Boston College for nearly 25 years.

A graduate of Emmanuel College, Dr. Horton holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Boston College.

Sylvia Parker was named interim director of the Science and Mathematics Teaching Center at the University of Wyoming. Since 2005, as coordinator at the center, she has worked with Wyoming schools and districts to identify needs for professional development for teachers in the areas of math and science.

Parker is a graduate of Colorado State University and holds a master’s degree from Teachers College at Columbia University in New York City.

Doris Christopher was appointed assistant vice president for academic affairs and director of academic programs at the Griffin campus of the University of Georgia. She was a senior administrator at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville. Dr. Christopher will also serve as a professor of workforce education, leadership, and social foundations at the University of Georgia’s College of Education.

Dr. Christopher holds a doctorate in education from the University of Arkansas.

Melissa Smey was named executive director of the Columbia University Arts Initiative which provides cultural programing to the university community and the general public. Since 2009, she has been director of the Miller Theatre at Columbia.

Smey is a graduate of the University of Connecticut and earned a master’s degree in performing arts management at Brooklyn College.

Kristina E. Raspe was promoted to vice president for real estate development and asset management at the University of Southern California. She was senior associate vice president.

Raspe is a graduate of the University of California Santa Barbara. She earned master’s degrees in construction management and real estate development at USC. She also is a graduate of the Loyola Law School.