New Assignments in Higher Education for 14 Women Faculty Members

Kelly Richardson has been named an assistant professor of kinesiology at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri. She has spent the past 13 years coaching collegiate volleyball at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri, the University of Texas at Arlington, and Western Illinois University.

Richardson holds a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Evangel University and a master’s degree in athletic administration/activity from Southwest Baptist University.

Yi Xin has been named an assistant professor of economics at the California Institute of Technology. She was a research and teaching assistant at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Dr. Xin holds two bachelor’s degree in economics and psychology from Peking University in China, and a master’s degree and Ph.D. both in economics from Johns Hopkins University.

Heidi Schmidt has been named department chair in the College of Education at Trident University International in Cypress, California. She has been a full-time professor of education since January and was previously responsible for facilitating masters-level courses in the College of Education.

Dr. Schmidt holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, and a master’s degree in educational leadership and a Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Tanya Furman has been named president-elect of the newly formed education section of the American Geophysical Union. She is a professor of geosciences in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Pennsylvania State University.

Dr. Furman holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Princeton University in New Jersey and a Ph.D. in geochemistry from the joint program of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Falmouth, Massachusetts.

Shafi Goldwasser has been named professor of computer science and director of the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing at the University of California, Berkeley.  She is also the RSA Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT and a professor of computer science and applied mathematics at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

Dr. Goldwasser holds a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and a master’s degree and Ph.D. both in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley.

Claudia Finkelstein has been named director of wellness, resiliency, and support for the vulnerable and associate professor in the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University. She was the founding director of the Faculty Wellness and Peer Support Programs at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Dr. Finkelstein holds a medical doctorate from McGill University in Montreal.

Bianca Manago has been named assistant professor of sociology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She was an associate instructor at Indiana University.

Dr. Manago holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and philosophy and a master’s degree in sociology from Texas A&M University, as well as a master’s degree in statistics and a Ph.D. in sociology from Indiana University at Bloomington.

Emily Sylwestrak has been named an assistant professor in the department of biology and the Institute of Neuroscience at the University of Oregon, effective April 2019. She has been serving as a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University.

Dr. Sylwestrak holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of California, San Diego.

Meredith B. Rosenthal has been named faculty chair of the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative, effective January 2019. She is the C. Boyden Gray Professor of Health Economics and Policy at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Dr. Rosenthal holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and a Ph.D. in health policy from Harvard University.

Sharon M. Howell has been named the director of the Center for Spirituality and Social Justice at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota. She will hold the Archbishop Harry Flynn Endowed Chair in Catholic Identity and will direct the Myser Initiative at the university. She was assistant dean for students, university ombudsperson, and parent liaison at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul.

Howell holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from Xavier University in New Orleans and a master’s degree in pastoral studies from the University of St. Thomas.

Nancy Lopez has been elected vice president of Sociologists for Women in Society. She is a professor of sociology and director of the Institute for the Study of “Race” and Social Justice at the University of New Mexico.

Dr. Lopez holds a bachelor’s degree in regional studies with a focus on Latin America with a minor in Spanish literature from Columbia University. She earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. both in sociology from the City University of New York.

Marueen L. Condic has been named a member of the National Science Board by President Trump. She is an associate professor in the department of neurobiology and anatomy at the University of Utah.

Dr. Condic holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Megan Undeberg has been named a clinical associate professor in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Washington State University. She was an assistant professor of pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy.

Dr. Undeberg holds a bachelor’s degree in biology, a bachelor’s degree in Spanish, and a doctor of pharmacy all from Washington State University.

Rebecca Davis has been named an assistant professor in the School of Library and Information Science at Simmons University in Boston. Before coming to Simmons in 2017 as a senior lecturer, she was an information services librarian at the University of Southern California.

Dr. Davis holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and government from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a master’s degree in library science from the University of Kentucky, and a Ph.D. in communication and information from the University of Tennessee.