Seven Women Named to Dean Posts in Higher Education

Carol Padden will be the next dean of the Division of Social Sciences at the University of California, San Diego. She will begin her term as dean on October 1. Dr. Padden has been on the faculty at the university since 1983 and has been serving as interim vice chancellor for equity, diversity, and inclusion. She holds the Sanford I. Berman Chair in Language and Human Communication at the university.

Dr. Padden is a graduate of Georgetown University and holds a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of California, San Diego. She is co-author of Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture (Harvard University Press, 1988) and Inside Deaf Culture (Harvard University Press, 2005).

Marilyn Jordan Taylor was reappointed as dean of the School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania. She was named dean in 2008. Taylor also serves as the Paley Professor at the university. Before becoming dean, she was partner in charge of the urban design and planning practice at Skidmore Owings & Merrill. She has designed many airport terminals and passenger rail stations.

Taylor attended the MIT Graduate School of Architecture and received her master of architecture degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Linda Sarna was named acting dean of the School of Nursing at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Sarna holds the Lulu Wolf Hassenplug Chair in the School of Nursing. Her research is focused on controlling tobacco use and caring for patients with lung cancer.

Dr. Sarna holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from the University of California, Los Angeles. She earned a doctor of nursing science degree from the University of California, San Francisco.

Elizabeth P. Sayrs was named dean of University College and vice provost for undergraduate education at Ohio University in Athens. She has been serving as an associate professor of music theory at the university. Prior to her appointment to the Ohio University faculty, Dr. Sayrs served on the faculty at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Valparaiso University, Ohio State University, and the University of Saskatchewan.

Dr. Sayrs is a summa cum laude graduate of Wellesley College in Massachusetts. She holds a master’s degree in music theory from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester in New York and a Ph.D. in music theory from Ohio State University.

Danielle R. Holley-Walker was appointed dean of the School of Law at Howard University in Washington. D.C. She has been serving as associate dean and a professor of law at the University of South Carolina Law School. Earlier in her career she taught at the Hofstra University School of Law.

Professor Holley-Walker is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School. Before entering the academic world, she practiced civil litigation at the prestigious Fulbright & Jaworski law firm in Houston.

Sarah T. Lubienski was appointed interim dean of the Graduate College at the University of Illinois. She has served as associate dean since 2012. A member of the university faculty since 2004, Dr. Lubienski is a professor of curriculum and instruction.

Dr. Lubienski is a graduate of Northern Michigan University in Marquette. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University.

Gail Humphries Mardirosian was named dean of the School of Performing Arts at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. She was the chair of the department of performing arts at American University in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Mardirosian is a graduate of Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. She earned a master’s degree in theatre and a doctorate in education at American University.