Six Women Appointed to Dean Positions

Desiree Polk-Bland was promoted to dean of advising and student support at Columbus State Community College in Ohio. She joined the staff at Columbus State in 2008 as director of advising services.

Dean Polk-Bland is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, where she majored in psychology.

Astride Orle Tantillo, professor of Germanic studies and history at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has been named dean of the university’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She has been serving as interim dean since November 2010. The appointment is effective on July 20.

Dr. Tantillo has been on the university faculty since 1995. She is president of the Goethe Society of North America. A graduate of the University of Oregon, Professor Tantillo holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.

Susan W. Stinson was named interim dean of the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has been a full-time faculty member in the department of dance since 1979.

Dr. Stinson is a magna cum laude graduate of Hood College in Frederick, Maryland. She holds a master’s degree in dance education from George Washington University and an educational doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Nadine Aubry was appointed dean of the College of Engineering at Northeastern University in Boston.  She has been serving as the Raymond J. Lane Distinguished University Professor and chair of the department of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. She will take on her new role as of September 1.

Dr. Aubry is a graduate of the National Polytechnic Institute of Grenoble in France. She earned a master’s degree at the Scientific and Medical University of Grenoble and a Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Cornell University.

Katherine Nugent was promoted to dean of the College of Nursing at the University of Southern Mississippi. Since 2004, she has been serving as director of the School of Nursing in the university’s College of Health.

Dr. Nugent holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas Woman’s University and a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University.

Susan Duncan was named interim dean of the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville. She has been serving as associate dean of academic affairs at the law school. Duncan has been on the law school faculty since 1997 and served as chair of the university’s Commission on the Status of Women.

Duncan is a graduate of Miami University and holds a law degree from the University of Louisville.