Nine Women Appointed to New Administrative Posts in Higher Education

Alison McFarlane was promoted to vice president of institutional advancement at Salt Lake Community College in Utah. She was the assistant vice president of institutional marketing and communications. She joined the administration at the college in 2007.

McFarlane is a graduate of the University of Utah. She has served as vice president for communications at the American Association for Women in Community Colleges.

Tracy Payne-Rockco was named director of alumni affairs at the University of Montevallo near Birmingham, Alabama. She has been a member of the university staff since 1999, most recently as director of the McNair Scholars program. She previously directed the university’s Upward Bound program.

Dr. Payne-Rockco holds bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Montevallo. She earned an educational doctorate at the University of Alabama.

Solveig Ovstebo was appointed executive director of the The Renaissance Society, a contemporary art museum at the University of Chicago. She will replace Susanne Ghez who has served as executive director for the past 40 years.

Ovstebo will begin her new role in June 2013. She is currently the director of Bergen Kunsthall, a contemporary art museum in her native Norway. She has held this post since 2003.

Karin Wulf was named director of the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, a joint initiative of the College of William and Mary and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. The institute, founded in 1943, publishes books and The William and Mary Quarterly, first published in 1892. It also holds several conferences each year.

Dr. Wulf is an associate professor of history and American studies at the College of William and Mary and book review editor of The William and Mary Quarterly. Professor Wulf has been on the faculty of the college since 2004. She is a graduate of American University and holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in history from Johns Hopkins University.

Susan G. Assouline was appointed director of the Connie Belin and Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development at the University of Iowa. A professor of psychological and quantitative foundations, she has served as the center’s associate director since 1990.

Dr. Assouline is co-author of Developing Math Talent: A Guide for Educating Gifted and Advanced Learners in Math and A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America’s Brightest Students. She holds a doctorate in education from the University of Iowa.

Nichelle D. Perkins was named deputy diversity officer for equity assurance at West Virginia University. She was a human resources manager for Concord Crossroads, a business serving disabled veterans in Palantine, Illinois. She also taught in the MBA program of the University of Phoenix.

Perkins is a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Iowa College of Law.

Tammi Dahle was promoted to dean of students at the University of Montevallo in Alabama. She has been on the university’s staff for 13 years serving most recently as director of the Career Development Center and Counseling Services.

Dr. Dahle holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Montevallo and a doctorate in education from the University of Alabama.

Karen Baldwin was promoted to vice president for advancement at the University of Alabama. She has been serving in the post on an interim basis since March. Previously, she was associate vice president for advancement. She has been on the staff at the university since 1998.

Dr. Baldwin holds bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, all from the University of Alabama.

Chris Martin was named president of the newly established Poynter Foundation in St. Petersburg, Florida. The foundation is the fundraising division of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, a center for journalism training and a media studies think tank.

Martin has been serving as vice president for university relations at the West Virginia University. She is the former dean of the Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism at WVU. Martin holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland.