A Dozen Women Who Have Been Appointed to New Administrative Posts in Higher Education

Sarah B. George has been named campus chief advancement officer at the University of Utah. She currently serves as executive director of the Natural History Museum of Utah and as an adjunct professor of biology at the university.

Dr. George is an honors graduate of the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, where she majored in biology. She holds a master’s degree in biology from Fort Hays State University in Kansas and a Ph.D. in biology from the University of New Mexico.

Patricia Williams Lessane was appointed associate vice president for academic affairs at Morgan State University in Baltimore. She has been serving as associate dean for strategic planning and community engagement for university libraries and as executive director of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture at the College of Charleston in South Carolina.

Dr. Williams Lessane holds a bachelor’s degree in English language and literature from Fisk University in Nashville, a master’s degree in liberal studies, African-American/Black studies, and Black feminist studies from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Sheryl McGrath has been named the associate state director of the Washington Small Business Development Center, a statewide network of small business advisors hosted by Washington State University. She has been president of the Washington Agriculture and Forestry Education Foundation since 2015.

McGrath holds a master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Eastern Washington University.

Courtney J. Martin has been named director of the Yale Center for British Art. She currently serves as deputy director and chief curator of the Dia Art Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports and presents exhibitions, commissions, and site-specific installations.

Dr. Martin holds a Ph.D. in history of art from Yale University.

Tandra Taylor has been named diversity and inclusion coordinator at Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey, Illinois. She also teaches African-American studies part time at Frontbonne University in St. Louis.

Taylor holds a bachelor’s degree in French from Spelman College in Atlanta, a master’s degree in public history from Georgia State University, and a master’s degree in American studies from Saint Louis University. She is currently completing a doctorate in American studies at Saint Louis University.

Nancy L. Damron has been named vice president of academic affairs at MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, Kansas. She has served as interim vice president since February 1, and previously served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and as dean of the School of Education.

Dr. Damron holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education-social studies and a master’s degree in education both from MidAmerica Nazarene University. She earned a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of Kansas.

Helen G. Sneed has been named president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Foundation. She currently serves in the Youth Education Department at Capital Workforce in Hartford, an organization that serves 37 North Central Connecticut communities in support of career building, career planning, and internships.

Sneed is a graduate of Central Connecticut State University where she majored in management and holds an executive MBA from the University of New Haven.

Deirdre Pitts has been named interim associate dean for academic and faculty affairs and diversity and inclusion at William Beaumont School of Medicine at Oakland University in Michigan. She has been serving as assistant dean for faculty affairs and professional development at the medical school since 2015.

Dr. Pitts is a graduate of Central Michigan University where she majored in business administration. She holds a master’s degree in organizational management from Spring Arbor University in Michigan and a Ph.D. in education and education leadership from Oakland University.

Dianna Wentzell has been named interim director of clinical education at the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, Connecticut. She currently serves as commissioner of education for the Connecticut Department of Education.

Dr. Wentzell is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, where she majored in Russian studies. She holds a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Hartford.

Margaret Lawrence has been named director of programming for the Moss Art Center at Virginia Tech. She has been the director of programming at the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, for the past 23 years.

Lawrence is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley where she earned bachelor’s degrees in anthropology and humanities.

Nora Zaki has been named advisor for Muslim student life at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Previously, she served as a chaplain at Dominican University in Chicago.

Zaki is a graduate of the University of Florida where she majored in Arabic, religion, and political science. She holds a master of divinity degree from the University of Chicago.

Paula Tinch has been named senior vice president and chief financial officer at Penn State Health. Most recently, she served as senior vice president of finance at Rochester Regional Health in New York.

Tinch is a graduate of Binghamton University in New York where she majored in accounting.