Fourteen Women Taking on New Administrative Duties at Colleges and Universities

Nancy L. Jones is the inaugural associate dean for development and alumni relations at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. She was vice president for advancement and alumni relations at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania and has served as director of development at Virginia State University and Dillard University in New Orleans.

A graduate of Howard University in Washington, D.C., Jones earned master’s degrees at the Claremont School of Theology in California and the New Brunswick Theological Seminary in New Jersey.

Melissa Sanders was named senior director for communications at the Green Music Center at Sonoma State University in California. For the past six years, she was senior director for communications for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Earlier in her career, Sanders was a public relations officer for the New York Philharmonic.

A graduate of Ohio State University, Sanders has lectured at the University of Georgia, Eastern Kentucky University, and Georgia State University.

Venessa Funches was appointed associate dean at the Montgomery, Alabama, campus of Auburn University. She also serves as an associate professor of marketing at the university.

Dr. Funches is a graduate of Tulane University in New Orleans. She earned an MBA at the University of Alabama Birmingham and a Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Alabama.

Joanna Young was selected to serve as vice president for information technology and chief information officer at Michigan State University. If approved by the board of trustees, her appointment will be effective on August 26.

Young has been serving as associate vice president for finance and budget and chief information officer at the University of New Hampshire. She is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire.

Kenyatta Tatum Futterman was appointed special assistant to the dean of students at the University of Chicago. She will investigate allegations of student sexual misconduct and advise the administration on best practices for prevention and discipline.

A graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta, Futterman holds a law degree from DePaul University in Chicago.

Zella Palmer was appointed director of the Ray Charles Program in African American Material Culture at Dillard University in New Orleans. She has served as the curator for the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago and the Southern Food & Beverage Museum in New Orleans.

Palmer is a graduate of Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, where she majored in bilingual and bicultural education. She holds a master’s degree in museum studies from the University of Toronto.

Linda Allen was named vice president for business and finance at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri. She has been serving as an independent financial consultant in Phoenix, Arizona, and had served on the university’s board of trustees.

Allen is a graduate of Evangel University and holds an MBA from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Patricia M. Alvarez McHatton is the new associate dean for teacher education at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She has been serving as a professor and chair of the department of inclusive education at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.

Professor Alvarez McHatton holds a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction, all from the University of South Florida in Tampa.

Valerie Day was appointed vice president for advancement at Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City, Tennessee. She was CEO of Haven House in Maryville, Tennessee, a nonprofit organization that provides shelter and other services to victims of domestic violence.

Day is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and holds an MBA from Carson-Newman University.

Nina King was named deputy director of athletics for administration and legal affairs at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. She has served as chief of staff for the athletics director since arriving at Duke in 2008 and will continue in that role.

King is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the Tulane University Law School in New Orleans.

Angela Simmons was promoted to assistant vice president for student affairs at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She was director of student conduct at the university. Before joining the staff at Virginia Tech, Simmons was director of the Center for Student Involvement at Millersville University in Pennsylvania.

Simmons holds a bachelor’s degree in educational psychology and a master’s degree in counselor education from Mississippi State University. She is finishing work on her doctorate in higher education from Florida State University.

Lisa Liseno was appointed assistant dean of the Graduate School at Florida State University in Tallahassee. In that role, she will be the director of the Program for Instructional Excellence and the Fellows Society. Since 2008 she has served as an associate for undergraduate studies in the Academic Center for Excellence at the university.

Dr. Liseno holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Florida State University.

Loretta A. Moore was promoted to vice president for research and federal relations at Jackson State University in Mississippi. She has served in the post on an interim basis and previously was associate vice president for research and scholarly engagement. Dr. Moore joined the faculty at the university 16 years ago as chair of the department of computer science.

Dr. Moore is a graduate of Jackson State University. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in computer science from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

Erinn Barcomb-Peterson is the new director of news and media relations at the University of Kansas. She was the director of news and editorial services at Kansas State University. She had been on the staff at Kansas State since 2006.

Barcomb-Peterson holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Kansas.