Thirteen Women in New High-Level Administrative Roles in Higher Education

Viji Murali was appointed vice provost of information and educational technology at the University of California, Davis. She will also hold the title of chief information officer. Since 2007, Murali has served as vice president for information services at Washington State University.

Murali holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry and a master’s degree in organic chemistry from Osmania University in India.

Tonia Moody is the new director of admissions and records at Pearl River Community College in Poplarville, Mississippi. She joined the staff at the college in 2006 and has held several roles in admissions, disability services, and recruitment.

Moody is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi and holds a master’s degree from Mississippi State University.

Pamela Ray was named director of the Office of Sponsored Research Administration at Florida State University. She was director of contracts and grants for the University of Georgia.

Ray holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Georgia.

Megan Wilkinson was promoted to assistant director of the Office of Greek Life at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. Since 2008, she has been the operations manager for the Union Complex in the university’s Union and Programs Department.

Wilkinson holds a bachelor’s degree in advertising and a master’s degree in counseling and personnel services from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Mary Purvis was appointed director of development for the Fay Jones School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas. A member of the university’s staff since 2012, Purvis was assistant director of corporate and foundation relations at the school.

Purvis holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in journalism and political science from the University of Arkansas.

Angie Freeman Shephard was named superintendent of the Matanuska Experiment Farm of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. She was a grants officer for Providence Hospital in Anchorage but has an extensive background in agriculture.

Freeman Shephard holds a bachelor’s degree in rangeland ecology and management from Oregon State University and a master’s degree in natural resources management from the University of Idaho.

Kim Sims is the new university archivist at the Swen Library of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. She was the technical services archivist at the Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

Sims is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and holds a master’s degree in public history from North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

Jeanette Kowalik was named director of prevention services and campus health initiatives at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has been serving as program director for the Chicago Department of Public Health.

Dr. Kowalik holds a bachelor’s degree and Ph.D. in health sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She also earned a master of public health degree from Northern Illinois University.

Naomi Powell was appointed director of the University of Alabama Cooperative Education and Professional Practice Program. She has been on the staff at the Co-op for the past 20 years.

Powell is a graduate of Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and holds a master’s degree in human environmental sciences from the University of Alabama.

Megan Sanders was promoted to chief of staff to the president of the University of Maine. She has been serving as vice president for human resources at the university and she will continue in that role.

Sanders is a summa cum laude graduate of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. She earned a juris doctorate at the University of Maine School of Law.

Lisa Cruces is the inaugural Hispanic collections archivist at the University of Houston Libraries. She was an archivist at the University of Texas.

Cruces is a graduate of Texas State University-San Marcos, where she majored in history and Latin. She holds a master’s degree in information studies from the University of Texas.

Andrea Jenkins was appointed director of majored and planned gifts in the Advancement Office at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina. She was a major gift officer for the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem.

Jenkins is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she majored in political science and African American studies. She holds a master’s degree in nonprofit management from High Point University in North Carolina.

Judith E. Bergtraum was named interim vice chancellor for facilities planning, construction, and management for the City University of New York. She has been serving as deputy to the vice chancellor.

Bergtraum is a graduate of the State University of New York at Cortland. She holds a master’s degree in special education from Boston University and a law degree from Brooklyn Law School.