Five Women Who Have Been Named to University Dean Positions

Nicole S. Sampson has been appointed dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Stony Brook University of the State University of New York System. She is a Distinguished Professor of chemistry at the university. She joined the faculty at Stony Brook in 1093. Professor Sampson’s research interests include the molecular intricacies of mammalian fertilization to finding new treatments for tuberculosis and cholera.

Dr. Sampson completed her undergraduate studies at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California. She earned a Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley.

Kellee Van Aken, associate professor of theatre and chair of the theatre and dance department at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, is the new dean of the university’s School of Visual and Performing Arts. Dr. Van Aken joined the faculty at Seton Hill University in 2011.

Dr. Van Aken earned her bachelor’s degree and a doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh. She also holds a master’s degree from the University of California, Davis.

Karen E. Bravo will be the next dean of the Robert H. McKinney School of Law at Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis. She is currently serving as vice dean. When Bravo assumes her new role on July 1, she will be the 13th dean of the law school since its affiliation with Indiana University in 1944. She will also be the first person of color and the second woman in the school’s history to lead the urban-based institution.

Bravo is a graduate of the University of the West Indies. She earned a juris doctorate at Columbia University and a master’s degree in law from New York University.

Sonya Forte Duhé will be the next dean of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. She will become dean on July 1. Since 2009, Dr. Duhé has served as director of the School of Communication and Design at Loyola University in New Orleans. There, she also is the A. Louis Read Distinguished Professor of Communications.

Professor Duhé earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1983 from Louisiana State University. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. After working for several years as a television news reporter, anchor, and public affairs show host, Dr. Duhé received her Ph.D. in journalism from the University of Missouri.

Update: This appointment was rescinded after students at Loyola University in New Orleans alleged racist behavior by Dr. Duhé.

SherRhonda Gibbs has been appointed as the next dean of the Monfort College of Business at the University of Northern Colorado. Dr. Gibbs currently serves as the interim director for the School of Management, which is the largest area within the College of Business at the University of Southern Mississippi. In addition to this role, she holds the Alvin Williams Endowed Chair of Minority Entrepreneurship.

Professor Gibbs holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Grambling State University in Louisiana. She earned an MBA at Winona State University in Minnesota and a Ph.D. in management from Jackson State University in Mississippi.