Five Women Appointed Department Chairs at the University of Tennessee

The flagship campus of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, has announced the appointment of nine new department chairs. Five of the nine new department chairs are women.

Dania Bilal was named chair of the School of Information Sciences. She is the author of Library Automation: Core Concepts and Practical Systems Analysis (Libraries Unlimited, 2014). A native of Lebanon, Dr. Bilal is a graduate of Lebanese University and holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Florida State University in Tallahassee.

Susan Kalisz was appointed chair of the department of ecology and evolutionary biology. Dr. Kalisz taught in the department of biological sciences at the University of Pittsburgh for 19 years. She served as editor for The American Naturalist and as a program director in the Division of Environmental Biology at the National Science Foundation.

Veerle Keppens was named chair of the department of material science and engineering. A member of the faculty since 2003, Dr. Keppens also serves as associate dean of faculty for the College of Engineering. Dr. Keppens earned her bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. in physics from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium.

Anne Smith, the Flaskerud Professor in Business, was named chair of the department of management. She joined the faculty at the University of Tennessee in 2001. Dr. Smith is a graduate of the University of Virginia and holds an MBA and a doctoral degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Maureen Taylor was named chair of the School of Advertising and Public Relations in the College of Communication and Information. She was the interim director of graduate programs for the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma. A graduate of Westfield State University in Massachusetts, Dr. Taylor holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in public affairs and issues management from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.