Three Women Who Have Stepped Down From Top-Level Positions in Higher Education

Elaine Heath, dean of the Duke Divinity School, has stepped down from her post after only two years. Dr. Heath will remain on the faculty at the divinity school as a professor of missional and pastoral theology.

Professor Heath is a graduate of Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. She holds a master of divinity degree from the Ashland Theological Seminary in Ohio and a Ph.D. from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.

Barbara S. McCrady recently stepped down as director of the Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse & Addictions at the University of New Mexico. She had led the center since 2007. Dr. McCrady will remain at the university as a Distinguished Professor of Psychology.

Professor McGrady is a graduate of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, where she majored in biological sciences. She holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Rhode Island.

Katharine Fretwell, dean of admissions and financial aid at Amherst College in Massachusetts has retired. She was appointed to her present post in 2014 and has served in the admissions office for nearly 30 years.

Dr. Fretwell is a 1981 graduate of Amherst College, where she majored in English and dramatic arts and played on the college’s soccer and lacrosse teams. She earned an educational doctorate at Harvard University. Before joining the admissions staff at Amherst College, Dr. Fretwell was an assistant director of admission at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.