Five Women From Academia Receive Distinguished Honors

Patricia A. Sullivan, associate dean for outreach and public service in the College of Engineering at New Mexico State University, received the Outstanding MAEStro Bravo Award. MAES is professional association promoting the advancement of Latino/a scholars in science and engineering. The award honors individuals who have worked to increase the number of Latino/a students who graduate from high school and go to college and graduate school in STEM fields.

Dr. Sullivan holds a bachelor’s degree in biology, a master’s degree in economics, and a Ph.D. in industrial engineering, all from New Mexico State University.

Rhonda Borcherding, the former director of study abroad programs at Pomona College in Claremont, California, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from IES Abroad, a consortium of more than 220 colleges and universities that sends about 5,300 students to study abroad each year.

Borcherding served on the staff at Pomona College for 25 years. She was a founding member and associate editor of Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad.

Linda Kean, director of the School of Communication at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, received the Outstanding Scholar Award from the Health Communication Division of the National Communication Association. Dr. Kean has been on the faculty at East Carolina University since 2003.

Dr. Kean is a graduate of the University of Illinois, where she majored in broadcast journalism. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Anne Arseneau, director of student leader development at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, was named as the recipient of the Robert H. Shaffer Award given by the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors. The award honors individuals who have shown a long-term commitment to fraternities and sororities.

Arseneau holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in education from the College of William and Mary.

The University of California, Davis has named the dance studio on campus to honor the late Della Davidson. Professor Davidson served on the dance faculty at the university from 2001 to her death in 2012.

Professor Davidson began her career as a ballet dancer in New York, but changed her focus to modern dance and choreography. She held a master’s degree from the University of Arizona. Davis died in 2012 at the age of 60 after a long battle with cancer.