New Administrative Positions for Seventeen Women at Colleges and Universities

Claudia Donald was promoted to senior director of online communications and client services in the Office of University Relations at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She is the former associate registrar and associate director of admissions for the university’s Graduate School.

Donald is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where she majored in food and natural resources. She earned a master’s degree in computer information systems at Boston University.

Cynthia Sweet was promoted to associate vice president for corporate and government relations at West Virginia University. She was serving as the founding director of the WVU Corporate Relations Office.

Sweet is a graduate of St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, where she majored in economic development. She holds a master’s degree in planning and economic development from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Angela Jones has been named vice president for advancement and executive director of the Eastern Washington University Foundation. She had been serving as chief of staff for the university’s president since July 2016 and most recently as interim vice president for advancement.

Jones is a graduate of Washington State University, where she majored in English and language arts education. She holds a master’s degree in communications from Eastern Washington University and a law degree from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington.

Elaine Polachek was appointed executive vice president of Santa Monica College in California. She recently stepped down as assistant city manager for the City of Santa Monica.

Polachek is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, where she majored in political science. She holds a master of public administration degree from the University of Southern California.

Kim LeDuff was promoted to vice president for academic engagement at the University of West Florida in Pensacola. She is the former associate vice provost of University College. Before coming to the University of West Florida in 2013,  Dr. LeDuff was an associate professor in the School of Mass Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern Mississippi.

A graduate of Xavier University in New Orleans, Dr. LeDuff earned a master’s degree at the University of Maryland, College Park and a Ph.D. in mass communication from Indiana University.

Elizabeth H. Simmons was named executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of California, San Diego. She was serving as associate provost for faculty and academic staff development at Michigan State University. Earlier, she was on the faculty at Boston University.

Dr. Simmons holds bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in physics from Harvard University. She also earned a master’s degree in physics from the University of Cambridge as a Churchill Scholar.

Elisabeth Weiss Stern was appointed acting director of religious and spiritual life and Jewish chaplain at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. She is the rabbi at Congregation Eitz Chayim in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Stern is a graduate of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. She was ordained by the Jewish Institute of Religion at Hebrew Union College in New York.

Denese Skinner was named vice president of student affairs at Amarillo College in Texas. She was serving as director of career services at West Texas A&M University in Canyon.

Skinner earned an associate’s degree at Amarillo College and went on to obtain a bachelor’s degree in education from Texas Tech University. She holds a master’s degree in education and professional counseling from West Texas A&M University.

Meg Hagyard was appointed interim director of the University of Arizona Museum of Art. She has been serving as senior director for external relations for the Office of Research, Discovery and Innovation. Earlier, she was director of the gift center for the University of Arizona Foundation.

Hagyard is an alumna of the University of Arizona School of Art.

Anika Mitchell Perkins was promoted to interim executive director of university relations at the Mississippi University for Women in Columbus. She has been serving as associate director. She has been on the staff at the university for 18 years.

Perkins is a graduate of the Mississippi University for Women, where she majored in journalism and mass communication. She is completing work on a master’s degree at Kent State University in Ohio.

Ashley Blamey was named Title IX coordinator at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She was deputy Title IX coordinator and director of the Center for Health Education and Wellness.

Dr. Blamey is a graduate of East Tennessee State University, where she majored in special education. She holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in social work from the University of Tennessee.

Susan R. Steagull is the new chief information officer for the Virginia Commonwealth University Health Service. She was vice president of application delivery services for Novant Health in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Steagull is a graduate of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where she majored in business administration and management information systems. She earned an MBA at the McColl School of Business at Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Shelly Jobst was promoted to director of continuing and professional education at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She was associate director of operations. Jobst has been on the staff at the university since 2004.

Jobst is a graduate of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. She earned a master’s degree in dairy science and physiology from Virginia Tech.

Pamela Goines is the new director of Accessibility Resources at the Blue Ash College campus of the University of Cincinnati. For the past three years, Goines was manager of disability services for Cincinnati State Technical and Community College.

Goines is a graduate of Tennessee State University, where she majored in finance and economics. She holds a master’s degree in special education from Xavier University in Cincinnati and a master’s degree in administrative specialist licensure from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Melanie Lucht was appointed assistant vice president for enterprise risk management at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. She was senior manager for disaster recovery and business continuity. Before joining the staff at the university in 2013, Lucht was vice president for enterprise business resiliency at PNC Financial Services.

Lucht holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in the administration of justice from Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Wanda Fleming was named director of human resources at Alcorn State University in Mississippi. Previously, she was human resources director for the Clairborne County School District and an administrator for the Jefferson and Claiborne County hospitals.

Dr. Flemming is a graduate of Alcorn State University, where she majored in business administration. She holds a master’s degree from Jackson State University and a doctorate from Walden University.

Sarah Van Orman is the new associate vice provost for student health at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. For the past decade, Dr. Van Orman has been the executive director of University health Services at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dr. Van Orman is a graduate of Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, where she majored in physics. She earned medical degree at the Mayo Clinic.