A Dozen Women Named to New Administrative Posts in Higher Education

Karen DeJarnette was named director of the Talent and Education Development Center at University College of Syracuse University in New York. The center develops educational programs that support businesses’ workforce needs and career development opportunities for residents of central New York State.

DeJarnette is a graduate of the University of Illinois. She holds an MBA and a master’s degree in information management from Syracuse University.

Valerie S. Fields was named interim vice president for student affairs at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg. Since 2006 she has been assistant vice president for student affairs and an associate professor of education.

Dr. Fields is a graduate of Southern University in Baton Rouge. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Louisiana at Monroe and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Louisiana Tech University.

Marijane Axtell Paulsen was named chief academic officer of Jones International University, an online educational institution headquartered in Centennial, Colorado. She has served as president of Colorado Technical University and as president of Pikes Peak Community College in Colorado Springs.

Dr. Paulsen is a graduate of Arizona State University, where she majored in zoology. She holds a master’s degree in biology from Whittier College and an educational doctorate from the University of Southern California.

Karen P. Pierce was named associate director of the Center for Writers at North Dakota State University. Since 2010 she has been serving as a graduate writing coordinator at NDSU. Previously, she taught at West Point.

Dr. Pierce is a graduate of Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. She holds a master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and a doctorate from the University of Arizona.

Janet Ellzey, vice provost for international programs and professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Texas, was assigned the further role of overseeing the universities gender equity programs.

Professor Ellzey has been on the faculty at the University of Texas since 1990. She holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley.

Brenda C. Spencer was appointed director of retention in the Office of Academic Affairs at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. She previously was involved in the university’s planning for a new dental school.

Dr. Spencer holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Florida A&M University. She earned a doctorate in higher education administration from Florida State University.

Lakisha Sanders is the new director of financial aid at Fort Valley State University in Georgia. She was the associate director of financial aid and a business analyst at Clark Atlanta University.

Sanders holds degrees from Armstrong Atlantic State University and the University of Illinois.

Tarin Schmidt-Dalton was named assistant dean for clinical sciences at the Carillon School of Medicine at Virginia Tech. Dr. Schmidt-Dalton is an assistant professor of family medicine at the university.

Dr. Schmidt-Dalton is a graduate of the University of Illinois and the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.

Michelle Garfield Cook was named associate provost for institutional diversity at the University of Georgia. Since May 2011 she has been serving in the post on an interim basis. Previously, she was associate dean of the university’s College of Arts and Sciences.

A graduate of Princeton University, Dr. Cook holds a master’s degree from Yale University and a Ph.D. in history from Duke University.

Vicki Brown was named interim dean of the College of Education at Grambling State University in Louisiana. She has been serving as interim associate dean of education at the university.

Dr. Brown is graduate of Grambling State University. She earned a master’s degree at Louisiana Tech and a doctorate from Kent State University in Ohio.

Caryn Schultz Korman was appointed vice president for outreach at the University of Minnesota Alumni Association. She has been serving as the associate vice president of outreach and engagement at the University of Illinois Alumni Association.

Korman is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University and holds a master’s degree from Loyola University in Chicago.

Judith Ryan was named associate vice president for human resources and administration at the University of Maine. She has been serving as vice president for human resources and senior adviser to the president at the University of Southern Maine.

Ryan, who holds a master’s degree from the University of Southern Maine, has been an administrator in higher education for more than 30 years.