New Roles in Higher Education for Seven Women Faculty Members

Ambika Mathur, professor of pediatrics and dean of the Graduate School at Wayne State University in Detroit, has been given the added duty as director of the Office of Scientific Training, Workforce Development, and Diversity at the university. Before Dr. Mathur came to Wayne State in 2003, she taught for 12 years at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Mathur holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Mumbai in India. She earned a Ph.D. in immunology and microbiology at the University of Iowa.

Angela High-Pippert was promoted to professor of justice and peace studies at Saint Thomas University in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is an associate faculty member in the university’s women’s studies program.

Dr. High-Pippert holds a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and a Ph.D., all from the University of Nebraska.

Patricia Henning a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of New Mexico, was named interim associate vice president for research. An extragalactic radio astronomer, Dr. Henning joined the faculty at the university in 1993.

Dr. Henning is a graduate of Wellesley College in Massachusetts, where she majored in physics and astronomy. She holds a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Maryland.

Jane Sykes was appointed chief medical officer at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis. She has served as interim director of the veterinary school since last year and joined the faculty at the university in 2002. Dr. Sykes is the author of Canine and Feline Infectious Diseases (Saunders, 2013).

Dr. Sykes holds a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. in veterinary microbiology from the University of Melbourne.

Amy Pruden was named to the W. Thomas Rice Professorship in Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg. She is a professor of civil and environmental engineering and associate dean of graduate education for the College of Engineering.

Professor Pruden joined the faculty at Virginia Tech. She holds a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati.

Jane Grande-Allen, the Isabel C. Cameron Professor of Bioengineering at Rice University in Houston was named director of the Rice Institute of Biosciences and Engineering. She has been on the Rice University faculty since 2003.

Dr. Grande-Allen is a graduate of Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, where she majored in mathematics and biology. She holds a Ph.D. in bioengineering from the University of Washington.

Laurie R. Santos, a professor of psychology at Yale University, was appointed to a five-year term as head of Stillman College at Yale. From 2010 to 2015, she was the director of undergraduate studies in psychology at Yale.

Dr. Santos joined the faculty at Yale in 2003. She holds a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. in psychology from Harvard University.