A Trio of Women Appointed to University Provost Positions

Patricia Prelock was appointed provost at the University of Vermont. She has been serving as interim provost since April. Earlier, Professor Prelock was dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at the university and a professor of communication sciences and disorders. Dr. Prelock holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in speech-language pathology from Kent State University in Ohio. She earned a Ph.D. in speech-language pathology with a concentration in cognitive psychology from the University of Pittsburgh.

Meera Komarraju was appointed provost at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She was been serving in the role of interim provost since April 2018. Dr. Komarraju began her teaching career as a lecturer at the university in 1986. Before being named interim provost, she served as a professor of psychology and dean of the College of Liberal Arts. Dr. Komarraju is a graduate of Nizam University in India. She holds a master’s degree in sociology and a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in industrial-organizational psychology from Osmania University in India. Professor Komarraju earned a second doctorate in applied social psychology at the University of Cincinnati.

Sheila Smith McKoy was named provost and vice president for academic affairs at Holy Names University in Oakland, California. She has been serving as chair of the department of English at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. A poet, fiction writer, and documentary filmmaker, Smith McKoy is currently co-editing “Teaching Literature and Writing in Prisons” for the Modern Language Association. A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, Dr. Smith McKoy earned a bachelor’s degree at North Carolina State University, a master’s degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Ph.D. at Duke University in Durham North Carolina.