New Assignments for Seven Women Faculty Members at Major Universities

Amber Brugnoli, an adjunct faculty member in the department of political science and for the College of Law at West Virginia University, was appointed assistant vice president for global strategy and international affairs at the university. Prior to this, she was the assistant dean for continuing legal education at the College of Law.

Dr. Burgnoli hold’s two bachelor’s degrees, a law degree, a master’s degree in international relations, and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in political science, all from West Virginia University.

Kathleen Merrigan has been named the first executive director of the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University. Prior to this position, she was the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture from 2009 to 2013.

Dr. Merrigan holds a bachelor’s degree from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, a master’s degree from the University of Texas, and a Ph.D. in environmental planning and policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Anne Michels has been appointed to a faculty position in the OB-GYN department at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. Additionally, she will provide care for university students on both the University Park and Health Sciences campuses.

Dr. Michels earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Colby College in Waterville, Maine, and completed her premedical program at Tufts University. From there, she went on to graduate from Colombia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Bertha Hidalgo, an assistant professor in the department epidemiology in the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and an associate scientist at the University of Alabama’s Nutrition Obesity Research Center, has been elected to the American College of Epidemiology Board of Directors.

Dr. Hidalgo is a graduate of Stanford University where she majored in human biology. She earned a master of public health degree from the University of Southern California and a Ph.D. from the University of Alabama Birmingham.

Yvonne Braun, chair of the department of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies and an associate professor in the department of international studies at the University of Oregon, has been given the added duties as associate vice provost for academic affairs at the university.

Dr. Braun hold a a master’s degree in social relations and a Ph.D. in anthropology and sociology from the University of California Irvine.

Cecilia Bitz, a professor in the atmospheric sciences department at the University of Washington, has been elected as a fellow of the American Geophysical Union. She has been on the faculty at the university since 1999.

Dr. Bitz graduated from the University of Washington with a doctorate in atmospheric sciences. She is the co-editor of Arctic Sea Ice Decline: Observations, Projections, Mechanisms, and Implications (American Geophysical Union, 2013).

Julia Acosta, director of the Office of Latinx, Asian, and Native American Affairs at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, was named to the executive board of the American Council of Education Women’s Network. She also teaches in the Organizational Leadership Program in the College of Education and Human Services at the university.

Acosta holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Wright State University.