Eight Women Who Have Been Appointed to New Administrative Positions in Higher Education

May Thao-Schuck was named the inaugural Teresa Rolling Radzinski Vice President of Career and Professional Development at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota. She previously was the director of the workforce development employment and training programs division for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Thao-Schuck holds a bachelor’s degree in therapeutic recreation from the University of Minnesota. She earned an MBA from Argosy University and is currently working on her doctorate in organization development at the University of St. Thomas.

Julie Weaver was appointed executive director of the Maryland Council on Economic Education’s (MCEE) at Towson University. Prior to joining MCEE, Weaver created an innovative financial wellness program for students at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland.

Weaver is a graduate of the University of Maryland-College Park, where she majored in business management.

Melissa Giggenbach has been named director of the West Virginia Innocence Project Law Clinic at the West Virginia University College of Law. Staffed by law students, the clinic provides free legal representation for the wrongfully incarcerated with many cases involving new DNA or other scientifically-gathered evidence.

Giggenbach has been affiliated with the West Virginia Innocence Project since 2013 when she joined the clinic as an adjunct lecturer. She is a graduate of Sweet Briar College in Virginia and earned a juris doctorate at West Virginia University.

Melissa Shivers was appointed vice president for student life at Ohio State University, effective January 6. Dr. Shivers currently serves as vice president for student life at the University of Iowa, where she is also an adjunct associate professor of educational policy and leadership studies. Previously, Dr. Shivers spent seven years at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville as assistant vice chancellor and then associate vice chancellor and dean of students.

Dr. Shivers is a graduate of Georgia Southern University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in communication arts. She holds a master’s degree in counseling and guidance services from Clemson University in South Carolina and a Ph.D. in counseling and student personnel services from the University of Georgia.

Sabrina Oesterle has been appointed director of the Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center in the School of Social Work at Arizona State University. Previously she was a research professor at the University of Washington.

Dr. Oesterle received her doctoral degree in sociology from the University of Minnesota and her master’s degree in sociology from Portland State University in Oregon.

Crasha Townsend has been named the interim director of Student Opportunities and Achievement Resources at Virginia Tech. She has been serving as a consultant in higher education and small business development.

Dr. Townsend is a graduate of Central Michigan University. She earned a master’s degree in higher education administration from Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, and a Ph.D. in educational leadership from Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho.

Elizabeth Bass will become assistant vice president of alumni relations at Virginia Commonwealth University. Since 2013, Bass has served as executive director of MENTOR Virginia, a statewide organization that partners with schools, universities, corporations and nonprofit organizations to increase the quality and quantity of mentoring relationships.

Bass earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Virginia and a master of social work degree from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Maria Watson was appointed vice president for advancement at Pomona College in Claremont, California. She has been serving as the associate vice president of development at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Watson is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where she majored in clarinet performance with a minor in political science.