Eight Women Scholars Taking on New Roles at Colleges and Universities

Jennifer McNabb was appointed chair of the department of history at Western Illinois University in Macomb. She joined the faculty at the university in 2005 as an assistant professor of history. Dr. McNabb served as director of the university’s Centennial Honors College from 2012 to 2014,

Professor McNabb is a graduate of Adrian College in Michigan. She holds a master’s degree from Bowling Green State University in Ohio and a doctorate from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Alison Criss, an associate professor of microbiology, immunology, and cancer biology at the University of Virginia, has been given the added duties of director of the new Global Infectious Diseases Institute at the university.

Dr. Criss is a graduate of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where she double majored in biology and chemistry. She earned a Ph.D. in cell and developmental biology from Harvard University.

Ruth Nisse was promoted to full professor of English at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. She is the author of Jacob’s Shipwreck: Diaspora and Translation in Jewish-Christian Relations in Medieval England (Cornell University Press, 2017).

Professor Nisse is a graduate of Columbia University in New York City. She earned a Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley.

Michelle Harding was hired as an assistant professor in the department of accounting and information systems in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg. She is a certified public accountant.

Dr. Harding recently completed her Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. She holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from the University of Virginia.

Heather Woofter, a professor in the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis was named director of the College of Architecture and the Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Design at the university. She joined the faculty at the university in 2005.

Professor Woofter holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Virginia Tech and a master of architecture degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Fionnuala Ni Aolain was named a Regents Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota. She joined the faculty at the university in 2004. Professor Aolain is the author or co-author of several books including On the Frontlines: Gender, War and the Post-Conflict Process (Oxford University Press, 2011).

Professor Aolain holds a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. from Queens University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She earned a master’s degree from Columbia Law School.

Natoya Haskins, an assistant professor of counselor education at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, was named co-director of the Undergraduate Research Experience program at the university. She joined the faculty at the College of William and Mary in 2016 after teaching at the University of Georgia.

Dr. Haskins is a graduate of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She holds master’s degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University and Virginia Union University and a Ph.D. in counselor education from the College of William and Mary.

Lisa O’Hara was promoted to clinical associate professor of management and organization in the Smeal College of Business at Pennsylvania State University. She joined the faculty at the business school in 2011.

Dr. O’Hara earned a doctorate in instructional design and technology from the University of Pittsburgh.