Seven Women Faculty Members Are Given New Assignments in Higher Education

Kaitlin Gold is a new assistant professor of plant pathology in the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University in Ithaca New York. Her research is focused on developing earlier, faster, and more accurate grape disease detection.

Dr. Gold Katie earned a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She conducted postdoctoral research at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab in California from August 2019 through January 2020.

Morgan D. Kirby was appointed an assistant professor of journalism in the School of Communications at Texas Southern University in Houston. She was an assistant professor at Norfolk State University in Virginia.

Dr. Kirby holds a bachelor’s degree from Hampton University in Virginia, where she majored in public relations. She holds a Ph.D. in mass communications and media studies from Howard University in Washington, D.C.

Stacey Hall, a professor of sports management at the University of Southern Mississippi, has been named the new interim director of the university’s National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security. Dr. Hall joined the faculty at the university in 2006 and was promoted to full professor in 2018.

Professor Hall is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi. She was the captain of the Northern Ireland International Soccer Team.

Hannah Barrett was appointed as director of the Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts at Bard College in Avondale-on-Hudson, New York. Prior to this appointment, she was the international program coordinator at Bard College-Berlin.

Hannah Barrett received a bachelor’s degree at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, where she majored in German and printmaking. She holds a master of fine arts degree in painting from Boston University.

Farida Jalalzai, a professor and head of the department of political science at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, was appointed associate dean for global initiatives and engagement at Virginia Tech. Her research focuses heavily on the representation and behavior of women and minorities in politics and the role of gender in the political arena.

The daughter of Pakistani immigrants, Dr. Jalalzai grew up in upstate New York. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and African and Afro-American studies from the College at Brockport of the State University of New York System. She earned both a master’s degree and a Ph.D.  in political science from the University at Buffalo.

Shearon Roberts, assistant professor of mass communication at Xavier University in New Orleans, will take on the new role of Xavier Exponential Director. Xavier Exponential is an honors program designed to help high-performing and high-achieving students “power-up” their Xavier experience through interdisciplinary, collaborative, and innovative approaches to learning that also effect positive social change.

Dr. Roberts is a graduate of Dillard University in New Orleans. She holds a master’s degree from Louisiana State University and a Ph.D. from Tulane University in New Orleans.

Carol Miles, a vegetable extension specialist and a professor in the department of horticulture, will be the new interim director of Washington State University’s Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center at Mount Vernon. She has worked for Washington State University for 25 years.

Dr. Miles is a graduate of Colorado State University and holds a Ph.D. in vegetable crops from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.