A Dozen Women Appointed to New Administrative Positions in Higher Education

Melissa Gonzalez was appointed vice chancellor of workforce and economic development at Lone Star College, headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas. The community college enrolls more than 64,000 students at campuses in the Houston metropolitan area. Women are 60 percent of the student body.

Dr. Gonzalez joined the staff at the college in 2012. Previously she was a professor of management at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. Dr. Gonzalez holds bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, all from the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg.

Jameca Falconer is the inaugural director for counseling and psychological services at Logan University in Chesterfield, Missouri. She has taught at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, Webster University, and Maryville University.

Dr. Falconer is a graduate of Tougaloo College in Mississippi. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of Missouri.

 Ava Stanczak was named assistant dean of clinical medicine at the DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee. She was chair of the department of pediatrics at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in Virginia.

Dt. Stanczak is a graduate of North Texas State University and holds a doctorate from the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Becky Petitt has been selected to serve as vice chancellor for equity, diversity, and inclusion at the University of California, San Diego. She will begin her new job on March 23. She has been serving as associate vice president for diversity at Texas A&M University.

Dr. Petitt is a graduate of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. She holds a master’s degree and an educational doctorate from Texas A&M University.

Anastasia Vrachnos was named vice provost for international affairs and operations at Princeton University in New Jersey. She has been serving as dean of international and professional experience for Yale-NUS College in Singapore.

Vrachnos is a graduate of Princeton University and holds a master’s degree in secondary school education from Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York.

Sheila Dossett was appointed interim executive director of alumni affairs at the University of Mississippi, effective March 2. Currently, she is senior associate director of alumni affairs and director of alumni activities for the schools of applied science and education at the university.

Dossett is a 1975 graduate of the University of Mississippi.

Marnie Dacko is the new associate director of development for the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University. She had been serving as coordinator for development, marketing, and special projects for women’s athletics at the University of Rhode Island.

Dacko was a women’s basketball coach for several universities over a 33-year span. She is a graduate of Southern Connecticut State University.

Suzie Baker was named interim director of the Cranwell International Center at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg. She has been serving as assistant director of the center. Before taking that position in 2012, Baker was a counselor for the Giles County Public School System.

Baker is a graduate of Huddersfield University in England and holds a master’s degree from Virginia Tech.

Jennifer Friend was named interim deputy provost at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She is assistant dean in the School of Graduate Studies at the university. Dr. Friend has been on the faculty at the university since 2005.

Dr. Friend holds a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies, all from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Mina Richards was appointed interim assessment director in the office of academic affairs at Trident International University, an online educational institution based in Cypress, California. Dr. Richard has been with Trident International University since 2009.

Dr. Richards is a graduate of California State University, Los Angeles. She hold a master’s degree from Claremont Graduate University, an MBA from the University of Phoenix, and a Ph.D. in information systems science from Nova Southeastern University.

Ameerah McBride was named director of equity and affirmative action at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. She was deputy Title IX coordinator in the Office of Institutional Equity at Kansas State University.

McBride is a graduate of Clark Atlanta University. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Phoenix and a juris doctorate from Ohio Northern University.

Susan M. Foster was appointed director for institutional equity and compliance at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is a senior associate attorney at the Jackson Lewis law firm in Omaha.

Foster is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Omaha and the University of Nebraska College of Law.