Three Universities Announce the Appointments of Women to Dean Positions

Jennifer Malat has been named dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University. She will begin her new job on July 1. Dr. Malat currently serves as divisional dean for social sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Cincinnati. Prior to joining the dean’s office, Dr. Malat served as director of the University of Cincinnati’s Kunz Center for Social Research. She began her career at the University of Cincinnati in 2000 as an assistant professor of sociology.

Dr. Malat holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Minnesota. She earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D., both in sociology, from the University of Michigan.

Nicole Pennington was appointed executive dean of regional higher education and lifelong learning and dean of campus and community relations at Ohio University Southern in Ironton, Ohio. She has served in these roles on an interim basis since May 2019. She joined the university as a professor of nursing in 2006.

Dr. Pennington is a graduate of Bellarmine University in Louisville. She holds a master’s degree in nursing from the University of South Alabama and a doctorate of nursing practice degree from Chatham University in Pittsburgh.

Leslie V. Parise was named dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Vermont. She will begin her new job on May 15. For the past decade, Dr. Parise has served as the chair of the department of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Parise is a graduate of the University of Illinois, where she double majored in chemistry and biology. She holds a Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago.