Eight Women Are Appointed to Dean Positions

Marie Hardin was promoted to dean of the College of Communication at Pennsylvania State University. She was associate dean for undergraduate and graduate education and professor of journalism in the college. Dr. Hardin joined the Penn State faculty in 2003 after teaching at Florida Southern College in Lakeland and the University of West Georgia in Carrollton.

Dr. Hardin holds a master’s degree from Georgia State University in Atlanta and a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia.

Chandice Covington was named dean of the School of Nursing at Kaplan University, headquartered in Davenport, Iowa. She has been serving as professor and chair of the department of women, children, and family nursing at Rush University in Chicago. Earlier in her career, she held an endowed chair at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and she is the former dean of the University of North Dakota College of Nursing.

Dr. Covington is a graduate of the University of Texas at Houston. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Texas at Galveston and a Ph.D. in clinical nursing research from the University of Michigan.

Erika Hayes James was appointed dean of the Goizueta Business School at Emory University in Atlanta. She has been serving as senior associate dean for executive education at the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia.

Dr. James earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Pomona College in Claremont, California.  She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in organizational psychology from the University of Michigan.

Shelley F. Conroy was named the inaugural dean of the new College of Health and Human Sciences at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. She has been serving as dean of the university’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing. Before coming to Baylor in 2012, Dr. Conroy was dean of the College of Health Professions at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Georgia.

Dr. Conroy holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. She earned a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

Wanda J. Blanchett was appointed dean of the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University in New Jersey. She has been serving as dean of the School of Education at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She will begin her new job at Rutgers on September 1.

Dr. Blanchett holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Central Arkansas and a doctorate in special education from Pennsylvania State University.

Cynthia Berg will be the next dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Science at the University of Utah. She has served as interim dean since 2013. She has been on the faculty at the university since 1987 and was chair of the department of psychology fro 2008 to 2011.

Professor Berg is a graduate of the University of Washington. She holds two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Yale University.

Marion E. Broome was appointed dean of the Duke University School of Nursing. She will also serve as associate vice president of academic affairs for nursing for the Duke University Health System. Dr. Broome has been serving as dean of the School of Nursing at Indiana University. She will begin her new job at Duke on August 1.

Dr. Broome has led the nursing school at Indiana University since 2004. She is the author of five books and is editor-in-chief of Nursing Outlook, the journal of the American Academy of Nursing. Dr. Broome is a graduate of the Medical College of Georgia. She holds a master’s degree from the University of South Carolina and a Ph.D. in child and family development from the University of Georgia.

Joann Bangs was named dean of the School of Business and Professional Studies at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota. She has been serving in the post on an interim basis since February 2013. Dr. Bangs has been on the faculty at the university for the past decade and served for four years as chair of the department of economics.

Professor Bangs is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She earned a Ph.D. in economics at the University of Minnesota.