New Administrative Positions for 10 Women in Higher Education

Nikki Fennern was named vice president of enrollment and marketing at Judson University in Elgin, Illinois. She has been serving as vice president for enrollment management at Iowa Wesleyan University in Mt. Pleasant. Prior to working at Iowa Wesleyan, Dr. Fennern was the athletic director at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota in Winona.

Dr. Fennern earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and health and human performance from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. She holds a master’s degree in health, physical education, and recreation from South Dakota State University, and a doctorate in educational leadership from Saint Mary’s University.

Maria Arvelo Lumpkin was recently appointed chief operating officer at Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina. She was the special assistant to the president and the inaugural executive director of student retention and the center for scholar communities at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania.

A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Dr. Lumpkin holds a bachelor’s degree from Saint Augustine’s Univerity. She earned a master’s degree in urban studies from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia; and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy from Clark Atlanta University.

Sophia Brelvi was named deputy coordinator for training in the Title IX Office at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. She was the director of Title IX, Ethics, and Compliance at Morehouse College in Atlanta.

Brevli is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where she double-majored in international business and political science. She earned a juris doctorate at the Michigan State University College of Law.

Bonita McClain Vinson is the inaugural vice chancellor of equity, diversity, and inclusion at North Central Texas College in Gainesville. She has been serving as dean of Health and Sciences at the college.

Dr. Vinson is a graduate of Mississippi State University, where she majored in educational psychology. She holds a master’s degree in counseling from Louisiana State University and a Ph.D. in educational administration from Texas A&M University.

Karen S. Vance has been promoted to assistant vice provost for institutional research in the Office of Planning and Assessment at Pennsylvania State University. She joined Penn State’s Office of Planning and Assessment in 2018 as associate director of institutional research.

Dr. Vance is a graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington, where she majored in psychology. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.

Danielle McBeth was appointed special assistant to the president for governmental relations at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. She is a partner with Alcalde & Fay, a government and public affairs firm in Arlington, Virginia.

McBeth holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Florida A&M University. She earned her law degree from the Washington College of Law at American University in Washington, D.C.

Cheri Ottaviano has been named the new membership director of KUAF 91.3 FM, the University of Arkansas-based National Public Radio affiliate. Ottaviano previously worked with the university’s Division of University Advancement, most recently as a development specialist.

Ottaviano brings more than 35 years of administrative experience to the role. Prior to joining the staff at the University of Arkansas seven years ago, she spent 14 years with the Little Rock-based marketing and advertising firm Comb’s & Company.

Emilie Hofacker was appointed director of the Posse Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The initiative identifies and awards full-tuition scholarships to public high school students with extraordinary potential who may be overlooked in the traditional college selection process. She has been the interim director for the past two years.

Hofacker holds bachelor’s degrees in biology and communication science and a master’s degree in educational leadership and policy analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Engle Revels was named director of admissions at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Revels joined the Office of Undergraduate Admissions in 2016 as an assistant director and most recently served as associate director.

Revels holds bachelor’s degrees in business administration and nursing and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Delicia Nahman is the new director of sustainability at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. She held a similar position at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Nahman is a native of Los Angeles. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley

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