Deans by the Dozen: Twelve Women Appointed to New Positions

Susamma Barua is the new dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science at California State University, Fullerton. She has been interim dean since 2016 and was named associate dean in 2008. Dr. Barua has served on faculty at the university for two decades.

Dr. Barua is a graduate of Regional Engineering College in India. She holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma and a Ph.D. in computer engineering from the University of Cincinnati.

Christine Chin was named dean of the School of International Service at American University in Washington, D.C. She will be the first woman to serve as dean of the school. Her research focuses on global migration studies. Dr. Chin joined the faculty at university in 1996.

Dr. Chin is the author of Cosmopolitan Sex Workers: Women and Migration in a Global City (Oxford University Press, 2013). She is a graduate of Wellesley College in Massachusetts. Dr. Chin earned a master’s degree at the University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. at American University.

Marla Royne Stafford was named interim dean of the Fogelman College of Business and Economics at the University of Memphis. She joined the faculty in 2001 and served for 13 years as chair of the department of marketing and supply chain management. Earlier, she taught at the University of North Texas.

Dr. Stafford is a graduate of the University of Arizona. She earned an MBA at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, and a Ph.D. at the University of Georgia.

Tanya Uden-Holman was named dean of University College at the University of Iowa. She will also serve as associate provost for undergraduate education. Dr. Uden-Holman has been on the faculty at the university since 1997. She has been serving as director of the Institute for Public Health practice at the university.

Dr. Uden-Holman holds a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and a Ph.D. in sociology, all from the University of Iowa.

Francine Edwards was appointed the founding dean of the College of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences at Delaware State University in Dover. She is an associate professor of mass communications at the university.

Dr. Edwards is a graduate of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She holds a master’s degree in organizational communications from Bowie State University in Maryland and a Ph.D. in organizational development and communications from Howard University in Washington, D.C.

Wendy York will be the next dean of the College of Business at Clemson University in South Carolina. She has been serving as the associate dean of the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University in California. York will also hold a tenured faculty position in marketing at Clemson.

York is a graduate of Stanford University, where she majored in international relations. She earned an MBA at Harvard Business School.

Holly Jeffcoat was named dean of libraries at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, effective August 1. She has been the associate dean of libraries at the University of Connecticut.

Jeffcoat is a graduate of Greensboro College in North Carolina, where she majored in psychology. She holds a master degree in sociology from Utah State University and a master of library and information science degree from the University of Arizona.

Ann Ardis was appointed dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Since 2016, she has been senior vice provost for graduate and professional education at the University of Delaware. She joined the faculty at the university in 1989. Dr. Ardis is the author of Modernism and Cultural Conflict, 1880-1922 (Cambridge University Press, 2002).

A graduate of the University of Kansas, where she majored in English. Dr. Ardis holds master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Virginia.

Mary Anne Jackson will become interim dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City on July 1. She is a professor of pediatrics and has been on the faculty since 1984.

Dr. Jackson is a 1978 graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine.

Brigitte C. Madrian will be the ninth dean of the Marriott School of Business at Brigham Young University in Utah. She will take office on January 1. Currently, Dr. Madrian is the Aetna Professor of Public Policy and Corporate Management in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She has taught at Harvard since 2006.

Professor Madrian holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Brigham Young University. She earned a Ph.D. in economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

M.L. Petty was appointed the inaugural dean of the student experience at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Since 2006, she has been serving as vice president for student affairs and associate provost at Loyola University in New Orleans.

Dr. Petty holds bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, all from Florida State University.

Janelle Holmboe was named dean of admissions at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. Since 2015, she has served as vice president for enrollment and marketing at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina.

Holmboe is a graduate of the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, where she majored in English. She holds an MBA from George Fox University in Portland, Oregon.