Seven Women Faculty Members Who Are Taking on New Roles at Colleges and Universities

Lissette Lopez Szwydky-Davis, an assistant professor of English at the University of Arkansas, has been given the added duties of associate director of the new Arkansas Humanities Center. Her research focuses on Romantic and Victorian literature and culture.

Dr. Szwydky-Davis is a graduate of the University of Miami. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in English and women’s studies from Pennsylvania State University.

Denise Murchison Payton, director of choral activities at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina, has been selected as the next president of the Intercollegiate Music Association. She has been on the faculty at the university since 2008.

Dr. Payton is a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University, where she majored in vocal performance. She holds a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Fayetteville State University and a doctor of music arts degree from Boston University. She holds a second doctorate in higher education administration from Walden University.

LaTeshia Warren was promoted to associate professor of elementary education at Georgia Gwinnett College. She has been on the faculty at the college since 2013.

Dr. Warren is a graduate of Georgia State University, where she majored in elementary education. She holds a master’s degree in postsecondary education from Troy University in Alabama and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia.

Adda Athanasopoulos-Zekkos is a new assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on assessing and mitigating the impact of multi-hazard stressors on geotechnical engineering infrastructure such as dams, levees, and ports.

Dr. Athanasopoulos-Zekkos is a graduate of the University of Patras in Greece. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Jane Andayi Opiri has been appointed assistant professor in the department of human sciences at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. She was an assistant professor at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Earlier, she was an instructor at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond.

Dr. Opiri holds a bachelor’s degree in home economics from Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya. She earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in textiles, apparel design, and merchandising from Louisiana State University.

Melinda Valliant is the new chair of the department of nutrition and hospitality management at the University of Mississippi. She is a professor of nutrition and hospitality management and co-director of the Center for Health and Sports Performance at the university. She began her teaching career at the university in 2004.

Professor Valliant holds a bachelor’s degree in nutrition and dietetics, a master’s degree, and a Ph.D. in kinesiology, all from the University of Mississippi.

Holly Krutka was appointed director of the School of Energy Resources at the University of Wyoming. She has been serving as the vice president for coal generation and emissions technologies for Peabody Energy. She is the former executive editor of Cornerstone, a journal of the world coal industry.

Dr. Krutka holds a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Oklahoma.