Ten Women in New Administrative Posts at American Universities

Mary W. Helmick is the new director of procurement at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg. She is the former director of procurement at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She had held that post since 2005.

Helmick is a graduate of Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Virginia.

Marquita Chamblee was appointed the inaugural associate provost for diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer at Wayne State University in Detroit. Since 2012, she has been the director of the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Multicultural Education at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

Dr. Chamblee is a graduate of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. She holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in agricultural education from Pennsylvania State University.

Barbara A. Chesler was named vice president for academic affairs at Caldwell University in New Jersey, effective June 15. She has been serving as dean of the College of Education and Health Professions at Columbus State University in Georgia.

Dr. Chesler is a graduate of Ohio State University. She earned a master’s degree from Clarion University of Pennsylvania and an educational doctorate from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Mary Anne Fitzpatrick was appointed vice president for planning for the University of South Carolina System. Her appointment is effective July 1.

Professor Fitzpatrick was the founding dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of South Carolina. She also serves as a professor of psychology.

Amy Hook was promoted to vice president of marketing and creative services at Boston University. She has been serving as associate vice president for strategic communications. She has been on the staff at Boston University since 1987.

Hook holds a bachelor’s degree in communication and a master’s degree from Boston University.

Michelle Toews was named associate dean for research in the College of Human Ecology at Kansas State University. She has been serving as a professor and assistant director for graduate studies and research in the School of Family and Consumer Science at Texas State University in San Marcos.

Professor Toews holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in human development and family sciences from Ohio State University.

Therese McDevitt is the new vice chancellor for marketing and communications for the Texas A&M University System. She has served in the post on an interim basis since October 2014. Previously, she was an executive for several media companies.

McDevitt is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas.

BayLee Long was named manager of programs for the University of Southern Mississippi Alumni Association. She has been serving as an assistant in the student activities office of the University of Mississippi.

Long is at graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she majored in business administration. This spring, she will be awarded a master’s degree from the University of Mississippi.

Sharrika Adams, the associate dean of students at Virginia Tech, has been given the additional responsibility as director of student advocacy. Dr. Adams has been on the staff at the university for 16 years.

Dr. Adams holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She earned a doctoral degree at Virginia Tech.

Amanda Woodward was appointed deputy dean for faculty affairs in the Division of Social Sciences at the University of Chicago. She is the William S. Gray Professor of Psychology at the university.

Professor Woodward first joined the faculty at the University of Chicago in 1993. She spent five years at the University of Maryland before returning to the University of Chicago in 2010. Dr. Woodward is a graduate of Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University.