Michelle Walsh was named director of athletics and physical education at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Since 2012, she has been the associate director of athletics and senior woman administrator at the State University of New York at Geneseo.
Walsh is a graduate of Swarthmore College, where she majored in engineering and lettered in three sports. She holds a master’s degree in exercise and sports science from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, and an MBA from Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts.
Newtona Johnson is the new interim vice provost for academic affairs at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro. Dr. Johnson is a professor of English and director of the Women’s and Gender Studies program at the university.
Dr. Johnson is a graduate of the University of Sierra Leone in West Africa. She earned a master’s degree at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and a Ph.D. from Emory University in Atlanta.
Genyre Henry Boston was appointed associate vice president for faculty affairs and faculty development at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. Dr. Boston is a professor of English in the university’s College of Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities.
Dr. Boston earned a doctorate at Florida State University.
Rebecca Fairchild was named associate dean of nursing at Alcorn State University in Mississippi. She was the director of nursing at the Rankin campus of Hinds Community College.
Dr. Fairchild earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Southern Mississippi. She later earned a doctoral degree in nursing education and administration from William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Veronica Cohen was promoted to vice president for university advancement at Mississippi Valley State University. She was the associate vice president for university advancement. She is the former manager of recruitment and diversity for the College of Dental Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina.
Cohen is a graduate of Saint Augustine’s College in Raleigh, North Carolina, and holds a master’s degree from Springfield College in Massachusetts.
Puvi Patel was appointed assistant director of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion at Washington University in St. Louis. She was the assistant director of student life at Loyola University in Maryland.
Patel is a graduate of Loyola University in Chicago, where she majored in history. She earned a master’s degree in college student personnel from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
Macol Stewart Cerda was named executive director of the Stevanovich Institute on the Formation of Knowledge at the University of Chicago. She founded her own firm, Silmaril Consulting, and is the former climate program director for Africa of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Cerda is a graduate of Princeton University and holds a master’s degree in international relations from Yale University.
Artika R. Tyner was appointed interim director of diversity and inclusion at the University of Saint Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is an assistant professor of public policy and leadership in the university’s College of Education. She is the author of The Lawyer as Leader: How to Plant People and Grow Justice (American Bar Association, 2015).
Dr. Tyner is a graduate of Hamline University in St. Paul. She holds a master’s degree, a law degree, and an educational doctorate from Saint Thomas University.
Shay Little was named interim director of the Division of Student Affairs at Kent State University in Ohio. She has been serving as associate vice president and dean of students at the university.
Dr. Little is a graduate of Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where she majored in psychology. She holds a master’s degree in counseling from Oklahoma State University and a doctorate in student affairs administration from the University of Georgia.
Barbara Roberts was appointed executive director of the new WorkLife Office at Michigan State University. The office will help faculty and staff during life transitions. Since 2011, Dr. Roberts has been the human rights officer at the University of New Brunswick in Canada.
Dr. Roberts holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a doctorate in education from Queens University in Kingston, Ontario. She also earned a master’s degree in occupational therapy at Boston University.
Tammy Aronson was promoted to associate director of operations, campus recreation, and intramural sports at North Dakota State University in Fargo. She was a safety and compliance office in the university’s Safety Office.
Aronson is a graduate of North Dakota State University, where she majored in human development and education.
Lisa Cassis was promoted to vice president for research at the University of Kentucky. She has been serving in the post on an interim basis since June 2014. Dr. Cassis is a professor of pharmacology at the university and has served on the faculty since 1988.
Dr. Cassis holds a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. in pharmacology from West Virginia University.
Robin Engel is the inaugural vice president for safety and reform at the University of Cincinnati. In this role, she will be responsible for overseeing several external reviews relating to the shooting of a Black man by a university police officer in July. Dr. Engel is a professor of criminal justice and director of the Institute for Crime Science at the university.
Dr. Engel holds bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in criminal justice, all from the University at Albany of the State University of New York System.
Allison Chew Syltie is the new director of the Martin Museum of Art on the campus of Baylor University in Waco, Texas. She was the director of the Pearce Museum at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas.
Syltie holds a master of fine arts degree in studio art from the University of Texas at Tyler.