Four Women Appointed to Dean Positions in Higher Education

Denise Rush has been appointed interim dean of the School of Interior Architecture at Boston Architectural College. Rush has been serving as director of undergraduate interior architecture at the college. Before joining the faculty at Boston Architectural College, Rush was an adjunct faculty member at Columbia College in Chicago and a visiting interior designer at the University of Illinois.

Rush is a graduate of Michigan State University, where she majored in interior design. She holds a master’s degree in nonprofit management from the Spertus Institute of Jewish Leadership in Chicago.

Bonnie Van Lunen was named dean of the College of Health Sciences at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, effective June 10. She currently serves as professor and chair of the School of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training at the university.

Dr. Van Lunen is a graduate of what is now Castleton University in Vermont. She earned a master’s degree in athletic training and a Ph.D. in sport management from the University of Virginia.

Kathryn VandenBosch was reappointed to a new five-year term as dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before becoming dean in 2012, Dr. VandenBosch was a professor of plant biology at the University of Minnesota. Earlier, she taught for 12 years at Texas A&M University.

Dr. VandenBosch holds a master’ degree and a Ph.D. in botany from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Dawn Williams is the new dean of the School of Education at Howard University in Washington. D.C. She has served as interim dean since June 2016. Dr. Williams joined the faculty at Howard University in 2003 as an assistant professor of educational leadership and policy.

Dr. Williams is a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, where she majored in elementary education. She holds master’s and doctoral degrees in educational policy studies from the University of Illinois.