Colleges and Universities Announce the Appointments of Nine Women to Administrative Posts

Kristina Hughes was appointed sustainability coordinator at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Most recently, she served as communications director for Nebraska Senator Megan Hunt.

Hughes holds bachelor’s degrees from Colorado State University in forest management and natural resource management. She is currently studying for a master of public administration degree from the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

Karen Goos was named vice provost for enrollment management and chief enrollment officer at Kansas State University. She has been serving as interim vice provost for enrollment management at the University of Central Missouri. Earlier, Dr. Goos worked at several campuses of Metropolitan Community College in Missouri. She will begin her new duties on November 18.

Dr. Goos earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary and middle school education from Doane College in Crete, Nebraska. She holds a master’s degree in exercise science and athletic administration from the University of Central Missouri and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy analysis from the University of Missouri.

Abigail Hoover has been named the new museum registrar/collections manager for the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Hoover was the registrar of the permanent collection at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.

Hoover is a graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she majored in art history and English literature. She earned a master’s degree in visual arts administration from New York University.

Sandra Mitchell is the inaugural director of equity and inclusion at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota. She was an intercultural education program specialist in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Minnesota. Earlier, she was the chief diversity officer at the University of North Dakota.

Mitchell holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in education from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

Viktoria Greanya was named chief scientist at the Wright State Research Institute in Dayton, Ohio. She was a program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency. Dr. Greanya also served as chief of basic research for chemical and biological defense at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

Dr. Greanya earned a Ph.D. in condensed matter physics at Michigan State University.

Amber R. Smith was appointed vice president for inclusion and equity at the University of Indianapolis. She has been serving as assistant vice chancellor for student affairs, inclusion, and outreach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Dr. Smith holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and a master’s degree in student affairs from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She earned aa Ph.D. in industrial and organizational psychology at Capella University.

Lisa Dreier will become the next managing director of the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative. She was a senior program fellow for the Corporate Responsibility Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School and served as a visiting scholar for the Center for Food Security and Environment at Stanford University.

Dreier is a graduate of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. She earned two master’s degrees at the University of California, Berkeley.

Tineke Battle was appointed chief human resources officer at Fort Valley State University in Georgia. Most recently, she served as assistant vice provost for faculty affairs at Pennsylvania State University. Battle will begin her new duties in December.

Battle holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Georgia State University and a master’s degree in learning, leadership, and organizational development from the University of Georgia.

Brandi Hephner LaBanc has been named the vice chancellor for student affairs and campus life at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Since 2012 she has served as vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of Mississippi.

Dr. Hephner LaBanc earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting at the University of Akron. She holds a master’s degree in higher education administration and student personnel from Kent State University in Ohio, and a doctoral degree in adult and higher education from Northern Illinois University.