New Administrative Posts for 18 Women in Higher Education

Susan Ford is the new acting provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She was serving as interim dean of the Graduate School at the university. Dr. Ford joined the faculty at the university in 1980 and served as chair of the department of anthropology from 2005 to 2011.

Dr. Ford is a graduate of Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia. She holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh.

Abena Sackey Ojetayo has been appointed chief sustainability officer and executive director of the Sustainability Institute at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. She has been involved in the alternative energy and green building design for the new Tech Campus of Cornell University in New York City.

Ojetayo holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in engineering management from Cornell University.

Jill McCartney was named director of athletics at Doane College in Lincoln, Nebraska. Since 2009, she has served as assistant athletics director for compliance and academics and senior woman administrators at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas.

Dr. McCartney is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she majored in English. She holds a master’s degree in English literature from the University of Arizona and an educational doctorate from Capella University.

Lisa Tamris Becker was appointed director of the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts at the University of Alabama Birmingham. She has served as director of the art museums at the University of New Mexico and the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Becker is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where she double majored in art history and mathematics. She holds a master of fine arts degree in studio art and art theory from the University of Texas at Austin.

Kristin Watkins was named director of the Portland office of the Oregon State University Foundation. She was associate vice president for advancement at Portland Community College, where she also served as CEO of the PCC Foundation.

Watkins is a summa cum laude graduate of Virginia Tech, where she majored in international studies. She earned a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Minnesota.

Linda Wycoff is the inaugural director of philanthropy for the Museum of the Rockies at Montana State University in Bozeman. She was director of the Human Resource Development Council in Bozeman.

Earlier is her career, Wycoff was the director of fundraising for the College of Engineering at Montana State University.

Mary Elizabeth Brenner was appointed senior associate dean at the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is a professor and chair of the department of education and has served on the university’s faculty since 1991.

Professor Brenner is a graduate of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. She earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of California, Irvine.

Jocelyn Foy is the new interim assistant vice chancellor for enrollment management at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina. She has been serving as interim associate vice chancellor for enrollment management and director of admissions at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina.

Foy is a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, where she majored in human services. She holds a master’s degree in adult education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Marianne Brough was named director of operations for the Associated Students of Montana State University. She was the executive director of the Utah Youth Project.

Brough is a graduate of the University of Utah, where she majored in political science. She holds a master’s degree in professional communications from Westminster College in Salt Lake City.

Pamela S. Erikson was appointed director of the Professional Mentoring Program at Kansas State University in Manhattan. She was director of academic advising at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas.

Erikson holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and international marketing and a master’s degree in college student personnel, both from Kansas State University.

Ann E. Thompson was promoted to vice dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She has been serving as associate dean for faculty affairs at the medical school. She is a professor in the department of critical care medicine.

Dr. Thompson is a graduate of the University of Chicago and the Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. She also holds a master’s degree in health care policy and management from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

Susan Sedberry was appointed managing director of the retail operations laboratory at the Center for Retailing Excellence and the Supply Chain Management Research Center in the College of Business at the University of Arkansas. She was senior director of business insights for Crossmark Inc.

Sedberry is a graduate of Indiana University in Bloomington, where she majored in management and administration.

Susan Klitzman was promoted to senior associate dean for administration and inter-campus coordination at the School of Public Health of the City University of New York. She was associate dean for academic affairs at the school.

Dr. Klitzman joined the faculty at CUNY in 1999. She is a graduate of Binghamton University of the State University of New York system. She holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in public health from Columbia University.

Chatonda Best Covington was appointed interim director of alumni relations at North Carolina Central University in Durham. She joins the university’s staff from the Chapman Law Firm where she was responsible for coordinated management of projects and policy analysis.

Covington is a graduate of North Carolina Central University and holds an MBA from Strayer University.

Hollis Ashby was named director of the Performance Series at the Williams Center for the Arts at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. She was the associate director of Cal Performances at the University of California, Berkeley.

Ashby is a graduate of St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, where she majored in English literature. She holds a master’s degree in dramatic art from the University of California, Davis.

Danita R. Sims-Potter was appointed associate dean of the Betty E. Smith School of Nursing at Grambling State University in Louisiana. She is a former assistant professor of nursing at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

Dr. Sims-Potter is a graduate of Grambling State University. She earned a master’s degree in nursing from Alcorn State University in Mississippi and a doctorate in nursing from Hampton University in Virginia.

Lysa D. Teal was named vice president of administration and finance at Rhode Island College. She was vice president for finance and budget at the University of Connecticut. Earlier in her career, Teal was assistant budget director at Brown University.

Teal holds a bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University and a master of public administration degree from the University of Connecticut.

Dymaneke Mitchell was named director of assessment at the University of New Mexico. She was serving as an assistant professor and director of accreditation and assessment at Albany State University in Georgia.

Dr. Mitchell holds a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Alabama.