Seventeen Women in New Administrative Roles in Higher Education

Gisela Ernst-Slavit was promoted to associate dean for diversity and international programs for the College of Education at Washington State University. She has been an administrator at the university since 1991.

Dr. Ernst-Slavit is a native of Lima, Peru. After earning her bachelor’s degree in her native country, she received a master’s degree at Florida State University and a doctorate in bilingual education from the University of Florida.

Janet Bingham was named vice president for university development and alumni affairs at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. She will also serve as president of the George Mason University Foundation. She has been serving as president of the Huntsman Cancer Foundation, which is affiliated with the University of Utah.

Dr. Bingham holds bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in education.

Kathryn M. Cardarelli was appointed associate dean for admissions and student affairs at the University of Kentucky College of Public Health. She will also serve as an associate professor in the department of health behavior. She was an associate professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Community Health at the University of North Texas Health Science Center.

Dr. Cardarelli holds a Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of Texas at Houston School of Public Health.

Melanie Cushion is the new senior associate dean for research at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Medicine. She is a professor of internal medicine at the university.

Dr. Cushion currently serves as an associate editor for The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology.

Kathy Kaplan was named director of development for the Division of Student Affairs at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She was director of donor relations and assistant director of special events at Old Dominion University in Norfolk.

Kaplan is a graduate of Winona State University in Minnesota and holds a master’s degree from George Washington University.

Nicole Roach was appointed associate vice president for diversity and inclusion at Webster University in St. Louis. She has been serving as director of the university’s downtown campus. She has been on the staff at the university since 2002.

Roach holds a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees from Webster University.

Stephanie Owens was named vice president for finance and administration and chief financial officer at Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana. She has been serving as interim vice president since March and previously was vice president of finance at Shorter University in Rome, Georgia.

Owens is a graduate of Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and holds a master’s degree in accounting from Shorter University.

Ronyelle Ricard was appointed special assistant to the chancellor at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She was coordinator for the Presidential Commission on Academic Renewal at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Ricard is a graduate of Xavier University in New Orleans. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Illinois and a doctorate from Pennsylvania State University.

Leslie Edgar was named director of the Office of International Programs in the College of Agricultural, Food, and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas. She is an associate professor in the department of agricultural education, communications, and technology.

Dr. Edgar holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Utah State University. She earned a doctorate in agricultural leadership, education, and communications from Texas A&M University.

Laurie Giles is the new executive director of the Center for Responsibility and Justice at Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Massachusetts. She is an assistant professor in the psychology and criminal justice department at the college. She has been on the college’s faculty since 2010 and previously taught at Springfield College in Massachusetts and the University of Bridgeport School of Law in Connecticut.

Giles is a graduate of Springfield College and the Rutgers University School of Law in Newark.

Leslie A. Charters is the inaugural director of student legal services at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. She has been serving as a public defender in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, and is a former deputy prosecutor for the county.

Charters is a graduate of Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, where she was a member of the golf team. In 2009, she graduated from the Valparasio University School of Law in Indiana.

Erica Austin was appointed interim vice provost for academic affairs at Washington State University in Pullman. She is a professor of communication and director of the Murrow Center for Media and Health Promotion at the university.

Dr. Austin is a graduate of George Washington University in the nation’s capital. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Stanford University.

Marilyn Kershaw is the inaugural director of the Office of Diversity and Access in the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Cincinnati. She was serving as director of graduate enrollment initiatives at the university. She has been on the staff at the university since 2009.

“With A&S being the largest and most diverse college, it is only natural that we take the lead on making the University Diversity Plan a living document at the college level,” Kershaw said. “This position can be a model for other colleges for what can be done. We have diversity in terms of our curriculum, so it’s time to expand that further to our students, staff and faculty.”

Karen Mossberger was named director of the School of Public Affairs on the Phoenix campus of Arizona State University. She was a professor of public administration and former associate dean of urban planning and public affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Professor Mossberger is the co-author of Digital Cities: The Internet and the Geography of Opportunity (Oxford University Press, 2012). Dr. Mossberger holds bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in political science from Wayne State University.

Sharon Gordon was appointed associate dean for research and chair of foundational sciences in the School of Dental Medicine at Eastern Carolina University. She was director of graduate research and training at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry in Baltimore.

Dr. Gordon holds a doctorate in dental surgery from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. She earned a master of public health degree and a Ph.D. in clinical investigation from Johns Hopkins University.

Susan C. Aldridge was named senior vice president for online learning at Drexel University in Philadelphia. She will also serve as President of Drexel e-Learning. She will begin her new job on October 15. Dr. Aldridge is the former president of the University of Maryland University College and has been serving as a senior fellow at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

Dr. Aldridge is a graduate of Colorado College and holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in public administration from the University of Colorado at Denver.

Lason Hines was appointed director of the Texas Institute for the Preservation of History and Culture in the School of Architecture at Prairie View A&M University in Texas. She has been on the staff at the university since 2007.

Dr. Hines is a graduate of Hampton University in Virginia. She holds a master’s degree in liberal studies and business from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and a doctorate in organizational leadership from the University of Phoenix.