Thirteen Women Who Have Been Appointed to Administrative Posts at Colleges and Universities

Sheri Phillips was appointed vice president for student development at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri. She served in the post on an interim basis for the 2013-14 academic year. She joined the staff at the university in 1985.

Dr. Phillips is a graduate of Evangel University, where she majored in psychology. She holds a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Wheaton College and a doctorate in higher education leadership from Azuza Pacific University.

Stephanie Sanders was named associate director of diversity initiatives in the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. She was assistant director of Diversity and Inclusion at Ohio University in Athens.

Dr. Sanders is a graduate of Ohio University. She holds a master’s degree in communication sciences and disorders from the University of Central Arkansas and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Ohio University.

Katherine Bearden is the new coordinator of institutional research and effectiveness at Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana. She recently completed the implementation of a portfolio management program for the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Bearden is a graduate of the University of Louisiana, Lafayette, where she majored in chemical engineering. She holds a master’s degree in biomedical engineering and a Ph.D. in engineering from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston.

Shelli Allen was appointed vice president of student development for East Central College in Union, Missouri. Since 1996, Allen has held a number of positions with the Metropolitan Community College system in Kansas City. Most recently, she has been dean of student development and enrollment management at the system’s Maple Woods campus.

A graduate of Truman State University, Allen holds a master’s degree in higher education administration from the University of Iowa. She is currently studying for a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Georgia L. Lorenz was promoted to vice president of academic affairs at Santa Monica College in California. She joined the administration at the college in 2005 and since 2008 has served as dean of instructional services.

Dr. Lorenz is a graduate of Stanford University, where she majored in English. She holds a master’s degree from Northwestern University and a doctorate in educational policy, planning, and administration from the University of Southern California.

Smitha Haneef was named executive director of campus dining at Princeton University in New Jersey. She was a district manager for LifeWorks Restaurant Group, a division of Aramark Inc. Earlier she was a visiting faculty member at the International Culinary Center in Campbell, California.

Haneef is a graduate of Osmania University in Hyderabad, India.

Sara Blair was named vice provost for academic and faculty affairs at the University of Michigan. She is a professor of English at the university and had been serving as associate dean for academic programs and initiatives for the Rackham Graduate School. She joined the faculty at the University of Michigan in 1996.

Professor Blair holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University. She is the author of Harlem Crossroads: Black Writers and the Photograph in the Twentieth Century (Princeton University Press, 2007).

Jacqueline Alvarez was appointed director of the counseling center and associate dean of students at Amherst College in Massachusetts. She was director of counseling and psychological services at Oregon State University in Corvallis.

Dr. Alvarez is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. She holds master’s and doctoral degrees in counseling from Ohio State University.

Donna Polk was named interim director of athletics at Bowie State University in Maryland. She has been serving as associate athletics director and senior women’s administrator. She joined the athletics staff at Bowie State in 2005.

Polk is a graduate of Columbia Union College, which is now Washington Adventist University in Takoma Park, Maryland. She holds a master’s degree in organizational management from the University of Phoenix.

Catherine Harmonosky was appointed interim associate dean for undergraduate and graduate education in the College of Engineering at Pennsylvania State University. She is an associate professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering at the university. Dr. Harmonosky has served on the Penn State faculty since 1987.

Dr. Harmonosky is a graduate of Penn State. She earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in industrial engineering from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Sarah Kate Gillespie was named curator of American art at the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia. She was an assistant professor of art history at York College of the City University of New York.

Dr. Gillespie is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She earned a master’s degree in art history at George Washington University and a Ph.D. in art history from the City University of New York.

Heather Nachtmann was chosen as associate dean for research in the College of Engineering at the University of Arkansas. She is a professor of industrial engineering at the university and has served on the faculty since 2000.

Professor Nachtmann holds bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in industrial engineering, all from the University of Pittsburgh.

Susan Carvalho was appointed interim associate provost and dean of the Graduate School at the University of Kentucky. She is a professor of Hispanic studies and has been serving as associate provost for internationalization. Professor Carvalho has served on the university’s faculty for more than a quarter century.

Dr. Carvalho is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. Professor Carvalho is the author of Contemporary Spanish American Novels by Women: Mapping the Narrative (Tamesis Books, 2007).