Thirteen Women Who Will Be Taking on New Administrative Posts in Higher Education

Deneese L. Jones was named vice president for academic affairs at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. From 2012 to 2015 she was provost and professor of education at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Earlier, she was dean and professor of education at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia.

Dr. Jones is a graduate of Texas Woman’s University and holds master’s and doctoral degrees from Texas A&M University.

Desiree Reed-Francois was promoted to deputy director of athletics at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg. For the past two years, she has served as executive associate athletics director and senior woman administrator.

Reed Francois is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Arizona College of Law.

Tamra Wright was named director of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. She has been serving as vice president for the Simon Youth Foundation in Indianapolis.

Wright is a graduate of the University of Georgia. She holds a master of public administration degree from Georgia College and State University and a master’s degree in criminal justice from Southeast Missouri State University.

Amy B. Smith was appointed senior vice president and chief marketing and communications officer at Texas A&M University. She is a former executive for Raytheon and also for the public relations firm Burson-Marstellar.

Smith is a graduate of Clemson University and holds an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona.

Ashley Hodges was named assistant director of athletics at Southern Vermont College in Bennington. Since 2009, she has been the head athletic trainer at the college, and will continue in that post as well.

Hodges is a graduate of Iowa State University, where she majored in exercise and sports science. She holds a master’s degree in adult learning and organization performance from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and is currently studying for an educational doctorate through Northcentral University in Prescott Valley, Arizona.

Dawn Hall Cartee will be the new director of the Center for Continuing Education at the University of Georgia. Since 2007, she has been president of Ogeechee Technical College in Statesboro, Georgia.

Dr. Cartee holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in education from Georgia Southern University and a doctorate in educational administration from Georgia State University.

Alanna Shanahan was appointed director of athletics and recreation at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Since 2012, she has been deputy director of athletics and senior women’s administrator at the University of Pennsylvania.

Shanahan holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, a master’s degree in education, and a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania.

Melody Herr was named director of the Office of Scholarly Communications at the University of Arkansas. She is the former acquiring editor of the University of Michigan Press.

Dr. Herr is a graduate of Millersville University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in biology. She holds a Ph.D. in the history of science, medicine, and technology from Johns Hopkins University.

Michelle Jones-Johnson will be the new chief diversity officer and vice president for talent development at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. She was the senior human resources business partner for Aetna Inc. She is the former director of talent management for the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Jones-Johnson is a graduate of the University of Michigan. She holds an MBA from Syracuse University and a master’s degree in organizational management from the University of Phoenix.

Alyssa Kelleher was appointed director of the Office of Veterans Affairs and Military Programs at the University of Connecticut. She has been serving as human resources manager for the Connecticut National Guard.

Major Kelleher is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Connecticut, where she was an Army ROTC cadet. She served her country in Afghanistan and has been awarded two Bronze Stars.

Jenna Friedman was promoted to gender equity specialist in the Office of Gender Equity at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She was a junior specialist in the Office of Gender Equity. She is the former program manager at the Domestic Violence Action Center in Honolulu.

Friedman is a graduate of the University of Hawaii, where she majored in psychology. She earned her law degree at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Marie Williams was appointed associate vice chancellor for human resources at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. She has been serving as associate vice president for human resources and administrative services at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.

Williams is a graduate of what is now Birmingham City University in England. She holds an MBA from Georgia Southern University.

Diane Durance was named the director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. She has been serving as CEO of MiQuest, a nonprofit organization in Michigan that supports entrepreneurial development.

Durance holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master of public administration degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.