Five Women Appointed to Dean Positions at Colleges and Universities

Tamara F. Lawson has been named dean of the St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami Gardens, Florida. She was the law school’s associate dean for academic affairs and had been serving as interim dean since June 2018. She will be the first woman of color to hold this position.

Professor Lawson holds a bachelor’s degree from Claremont McKenna College in California, a juris doctorate from the University of San Francisco, and a master of law degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Joann Bangs has been named vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Cottey College in Nevada, Missouri. She was associate provost of the College of Women and dean of the School of Business and Professional Studies at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Dr. Bangs holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Minnesota.

Sarah Feldner has been named acting dean of the Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University in Milwaukee. She was the college’s associate dean for graduate studies and research and also serves as a professor of communication studies.

Dr. Feldner holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Kentucky, a master’s degree in speech communication from Indiana University, and a Ph.D. in organizational communication from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Karen Diaz has been named dean of West Virginia University Libraries. She had been serving as interim dean since July 2017 and has been on the staff at the university since 2016.

Diaz holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of New Orleans and a master of library science degree from Louisiana State University.

Sujata Moorti has been named vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Middlebury College in Vermont. She is the Charles A. Dana Professor of Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies and has been a Middlebury faculty member since 2005.

Professor Moorti is the author of Color of Rape: Gender and Race in Television’s Public Spheres (State University of New York Press, 2002).