Fifteen Women Appointed to Senior-Level Administrative Posts in Higher Education

Betty A. Block was named interim associate provost and vice president for academic affairs for the current academic year at Texas A&M University-Commerce. She is a professor and chair in the department of health and human performance at the university. Earlier in her career, she taught at Adams State College and Georgia College and State University.

Dr. Block is a graduate of Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. She earned a doctorate in health and physical education at Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Pamela L. Jennings was named director of the Center for Design Innovation at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina. She is a former program officer in the Computer Information Science and Engineering Directorate of the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Jennings is a graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio. She earned a master’s degree in studio art at New York University, a master of fine arts degree in computer art from the School of Visual Arts in New York, an MBA at the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in human-centered systems design and digital media at the University of Plymouth in England.

Carlia Smith is the new director of financial aid at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. She is the former director of financial aid Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, and was associate vice president for student financial services at the University of Arkansas System

Smith is a summa cum laude graduate of Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas. She earned an MBA at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.

Claudia Donald was promoted to director of online communications in university relations at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Since 2005, she has served as associate graduate registrar and associate director of graduate admissions.

Donald is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, where she majored in food and natural resources. She earned a master’s degree in computer information systems from Boston University.

Stephanie McGowan was named associate dean for assessment and accreditation for the College of Education and Human Services at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. She was director of educational enrollment and teacher certification at William Patterson University in Wayne, New Jersey.

Dr. McGowan holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in education from Seton Hall University. He earned an educational doctorate at Fordham University in New York.

Sue B. Workman was named vice president for information technology services and chief information officer at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. She was associate vice president for client services and support at Indiana University. She had been on the staff at Indiana University since 1991.

Workman is a graduate of the University of Indianapolis, where she majored in mathematics and computer technology.

Cori Fata-Hartley was promoted to assistant dean for curriculum coordination at the College of Natural Science of Michigan State University. She has been on the staff at Michigan State since 2005.

Dr. Fata-Hartley is a graduate of the University of Toledo. She holds a Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology from the Medical College of Ohio.

Doreen D. Edwards was named acting director and vice president for statutory affairs at the College of Ceramics at Alfred University in New York. Since 2009, she has been serving as dean of engineering. Dr. Edwards joined the faculty at Alfred University in 1997 and was promoted to full professor in 2007.

Professor Edwards is a graduate of the South Dakota School of Mines, where she majored in chemistry. She holds a Ph.D. in material science and engineering from Northwestern University.

Linda Bonnin was appointed vice president for strategic communications at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. She was vice president for communications, public relations, and marketing at the University of Memphis.

Bonnin is a native of Memphis, Tennessee, and is a graduate of Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas.

Cynthia J. Cyrus was promoted to vice provost for learning and residential affairs at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She has been serving as associate provost for undergraduate education and digital learning.

Dr. Cyrus is a graduate of Pomona College in Claremont, California. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in musicology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Cindy Weinstein was named vice provost at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. She is a professor of English at CalTech and specializes in nineteenth-century American literature. Professor Weinstein has been on the CalTech faculty since 1989.

Professor Weinstein is a graduate of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. She earned a Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley.

Malika Roman Isler was named the inaugural director of wellbeing at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She was an assistant professor of social medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Roman Isler is a graduate of Wake Forest University. She earned a master’s degree at the University of South Carolina and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Alice C. Stewart was appointed interim vice provost for strategic planning and institutional effectiveness at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. She is an associate professor in the university’s School of Business and Economics.

Dr. Stewart holds a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from the University of Kentucky. She earned a Ph.D. in strategic management from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

LLJuna Weir was promoted to director of the Office of Educational Equity and Inclusion at Alcorn State University in Mississippi. She had been serving as interim director of intercollegiate athletics at the university.

Weir holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Alcorn State University. She has been on the athletics staff at the university for the past 16 years.

Stephanie Garst was named executive director of the US Play Coalition at Clemson University in South Carolina. She was director of community programs and special events at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia.

Garst is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. She earned a master’s degree in counseling and human development at Radford University in Virginia.